


Sailor Moon X

by Starling_Sinclair



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2019-10-02 07:16:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 53,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17259917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starling_Sinclair/pseuds/Starling_Sinclair
Summary: What if Luna found Usagi at 24 instead of 14? How does leading a dual life work as an adult with a job and apartment to manage? And what if Usagi wasn't the first Senshi? This is a reimagining of the Dark Kingdom arc in contemporary Tokyo with an older cast.





	1. It Always Starts With a Little Black Cat in Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Sailor Moon X! This is a reimagining of the first major arc of Sailor Moon except everyone is ten years older. I think the idea came to me when I was twenty-four myself and thinking about how much harder it might actually be. (Rent is expensive y'all.)
> 
> So, after years of sitting on this idea and occasionally daydreaming in this world, I decided to tackle it for NaNoWrimo 2018. I drew on my own experiences of adulthood as well as my travels to Japan. When it was done, I was pretty happy with it and have decided to share it with the world. 
> 
> This is part of my New Year's resolutions. New chapters will be posted every other week until it's done. Be prepared because this is gonna be a long one.
> 
> To my friends: Here you go! You can finally read something I've written after ten years of seeing me write!
> 
> To new readers; Hello! Welcome! Hope you enjoy this story as much as I did writing it.
> 
> A big thanks my beta readers: Matt and Runic. Matt, you're my favorite for exploring ideas. Runic, you make me a better writer. Also a big shout out to Chelsea, my writing buddy. I would never have gotten so many words in without you, and I look forward to writing with you this year!
> 
> Lastly, a big thanks to my husband, for being a great critic and telling me I'm not crazy when I think something sucks and identifying why it sucks. Love you.
> 
> And without further ado...here we go.

The boys in the alley had to be up to no good. They sat in a semicircle, poking at something on the ground. Given the Vicinity Youma phone alert sent twenty minutes prior, the subject of their fascination was probably morbid.

Usagi was taking out the trash, which was one of the only reasons to be behind Crown Arcade. Her shift had started with a full workload and halted due to the advisory to stay indoors. To top it off, her shop was virtually empty because of said monster attack, which was actually at a nearby establishment. She’d learn the details after work when she had time to check her Twitter feed.

“Do you think it’s still alive?” one of the boys asked.

She sighed. As Assistant Manager of Crown, Usagi would have to address this situation. 

She loudly banged the dumpster open in hopes of scaring the middle school kids off. Then, she tossed her trash into the bin then slammed the dumpster closed. Still no response. So, she inhaled deeply, trying not to gag on the smell of stale soda and rotten chips.

“Hey! Kids! What are you doing back here?” she yelled.

This time, the boys froze, looked over their shoulders, then rushed out of the alley. Clearly, up to no good. Relieved that it hadn’t been particularly confrontational, Usagi went over to see just what trouble the boys were getting into. She gasped at what she saw.

A small black cat was lying prone on the ground.

Usagi dropped to her knees, and touched the kitty, hoping that she wouldn’t feel it cold and stiff beneath her fingers. 

“Please kitty, be alright,” she whispered.

She let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding when she felt warmth beneath her fingers and the small labored breaths of a injured cat. What was she going to do? How could she help? She knew one thing for sure, sitting out in this alley wasn’t going to help. 

Very carefully, Usagi lifted the cat up and brought it into the arcade.

***  
Luna ached and she wasn’t entirely sure what was happening. She remembered the youma. She remembered instructing Minako in the heat of battle. She remembered being struck, but not much after. Where were her Senshi?

“It’s okay kitty, I’m going to get you help,” an almost familiar voice told her.

Luna felt blankets being wrapped around her, and being gently laid somewhere. She cracked her eyes open and saw blue eyes, blonde hair, and an indistinguishable face backlit by a single light. All she could think in that moment was, princess?

A gentle hand petted Luna, and it was very soothing. 

“You’re safe now. Just rest,” Luna heard, then let the darkness overtake her once more.  
***  
Usagi did her best to occupy herself. Patience was not a virtue she possessed. This was especially true when she felt she could be helping, but wasn’t. Or course, she constantly reminded herself that she was doing all she could. The vet wouldn’t even be in for another forty minutes. 

So, Usagi wiped down counters, dusted, stocked the claw machines, checked on patrons (there were only two) and made sure all her games were in top order. (Which of course, only took five minutes.) She’d do anything that would make the time go by faster. The worry still bubbled through. Worried that even waiting the hour for Motoki to get there so she could the animal to the vet would be too long. If something happened to that cat, Usagi would never forgive herself.

The door chimed, and Usagi leaned into the aisle to see who entered. (Again, happy for any distraction.) A beautiful woman with long blonde hair and a big red bow stood looking around. She was model gorgeous with perfect posture. It’s like she’d walked off a movie set for the next Avenger’s movie. Recognizing that this woman was probably not here to play the newest Square Enix arcade game, Usagi brushed her hand off on her pants and walked over.

“Hi,” she said. “Can I help you.”

The woman’s demeanor shifted from elegant and aloof to anxious. She wrung her hands, and began, “I know this is a long shot, but have you seen a black cat around here? I lost her during a youma attack, and I’m just so worried…”

Usagi perked up. Finally! Something she could do. “Yes! I found her in my alley,” she said eagerly. Without really thinking, she took the woman’s hand and lead her to the storeroom.

“I’m really sorry,” Usagi continued as they walked, “she’s really beat up. I was waiting for my manager to get in so I could bring her to the emergency vet...”

In her excitement, Usagi fumbled with the keys to the storeroom. As soon as it was open though, the woman pushed past her and kneeled beside the box.

“Oh Luna,” the woman said, kneeling down beside the box. “Thank you so much. I can take her from here.” 

Gently, the woman lifted the cat from the box, and Usagi actually felt a little sorrow in her heart. She couldn’t quite place it, but it was almost a sense of deja vu, a sense that it should be Usagi cradling the cat in her arms.

When the woman turned to face Usagi, she looked into Usagi’s eyes, and Usagi also felt such a strange familiarity in this moment. The woman did too.

“How can I ever thank you?” the woman said, cradling the injured cat.

“Come back when she’s better,” Usagi said, pointing to the cat.

The woman nodded and left, leaving Usagi behind, and a feeling that the world shifted under Usagi’s feet. Something big had happened, but Usagi couldn’t quite figure out what.

***  
It was still strange to Mamoru to be back in Tokyo after so long. He’d been there nearly six months as the new pediatric surgeon for Saiseikai Central Hospital, but it’d taken this long before his and Motoki’s schedule had aligned. And now he was on his way to his old haunt. A place he hadn’t been in six years, a place full of fond memories - Crown Arcade.

Crown Arcade’s core hadn’t changed much since he’d been there, but everything looked different. New games he didn’t recognize, many violent with guns and some strange Pokemon token game greeted him at the entrance. The sliding doors were polished and sparkling. The walls were now a pale blue instead of a pale yellow. Motoki had told him they’d changed the name to Crown from Furahata to appeal to the influx of foreigners in the district. It all felt fresh and hip and slightly Western, as did most of Roppongi Hills now.

But even though all the surface had changed, and the paint was fresh, everything inside was just as it had always been. There were kids and adults and beeps and chimes. In the back he could see some of the older games, the games that had been hip when he was in school. He noticed it was aptly labeled Nostalgia Corner (sponsored by Super Potato).

Then he stopped dead in his footsteps. The old Sailor V game was being played by a child. Beside the boy was the back of a young woman, dressed conservatively, wearing the store apron, her long blonde hair wrapped up in two twin buns and pigtails on her head. The very tips of her hair were dyed a pale pink. His heart quickened, and he shook his head.

He hadn’t been prepared to see her after all these years. After what he’d done. She wasn’t supposed to be here. She was supposed to have grown up. Moved off to college somewhere far away. Maybe he’d pass her in a busy street or at Shibuya Crossing. He’d see her at a distance and wonder what was. He swallowed hard.

Some things never change. He walked closer. She continued on, unaware of the ghost walking back into her life. She didn’t glance over her shoulder as she heard the ding of someone new coming in. She could have checked to see if the new patron was in need of help, but she also knew they could just wait a moment.

“Yeah! Just like that! You’ve got this, Yoshi,” Usagi said, encouraging her favorite patron, a young boy about nine who was in love with the classic Sailor V game. She would never say out loud that Yoshi was her favorite patron; she was the assistant manager and therefore couldn’t really show favoritism. But, she held a extra special soft spot for him. All of her focus was on him.

So she didn’t hear the footsteps walking up behind her, but she did feel eyes on her back. Of course, all that was forgotten the moment Yoshi beat the boss.

“You did it!” Usagi exclaimed. She and Yoshi high-fived. Both shared a child-like joy at the success. The machine made the beeping noise where it would have dispensed a prize if it wasn’t a decade old and prizes were long gone. Yoshi looked at the dispenser a little crestfallen.

“Don’t worry, I have something special for you. Just wait here,” Usagi said. She patted his shoulder.

As she stood up and turned around, she stopped dead in her tracks.

“Hello Odango Atama.”

He looked so different and so much the same. He looked older, but even more handsome, though less immaculately dressed. He still had that swagger. That unruly dark hair. Those piercing blue eyes. And if he thought he was just going to walk back in here after six years without so much as a damn Facebook message, he had another thing coming.

She put on her best unimpressed face. “Excuse me, Mamoru, but I have a customer to attend to. I’ll be with you just momentarily,” she said in her iciest, most business-like voice.

She deliberately brushed past him, her shoulder pushing into his pecs (oh damn that was well defined). A spark flowed through her at the touch. She dismissed it as static. If he thought he could just walk in here and pretend that everything was okay…

When she reached the storeroom, she was proud she hadn’t looked back. She was proud of herself for not crying when she ducked to scrounge through the bottom shelf. It shouldn’t still hurt. But seeing him took the breath right out of her. Made her heart pound in her chest. How after all these years could there still be a something between them. She pushed through the boxes of DragonBall Z and Sword Art Online as various other characters, hoping that there were still some leftover Sailor V prizes.

“Usa!” Motoki called. “What are you doing under there?”

Usagi almost jumped into the storeroom door she was so startled. She put her hand to her chest to calm herself.

“I’m trying to find any old Sailor V prizes. Yoshi finally beat the Haunted Castle today,” she explained. As she did, she found a little Sailor V figure, dusty, but otherwise in mint condition. “Ah-ha! I knew I still had some down here.”

She pulled the little box out from the counter. As she stood up, she knocked the cobwebs from her hair.

“Well, I wanted to warn you that Mamoru is coming to meet me for lunch,” Motoki continued. “I know it’s been years, but, the way he left…”

“Well, that warning came a little late,” Usagi said and exited the storeroom. She slammed the door behind her. As she headed toward Yoshi, she saw Mamoru talking to him. He was playing the game again, Mamoru kneeling beside him. (Damn tall bastard.)

“Wait! You can’t back tack, and that’s a false wall. The Moonbeam power up is hidden there. Don’t forget it. You’ll need it when you fight the Diamond Queen,” Mamoru informed.

Usagi stopped in her tracks, and bit her lip to keep herself from smiling. He’d given her that same tip many years ago, though he hadn’t been quite that nice about doing it. It was key to obtaining a high score.

“Watch out!” Mamoru called, but it was too late. The game over music sounded. “Ah, man, that trap used to get me too.”

The main screen flashed as did the high scores. MoonBunny and CM1 flashed as the respective top slots, one and two. Usagi took this moment to interrupt.

“Here Yoshi,” she said. “I knew I still had a prize in the back.” She handed him the little figure box.

“Yes!” Yoshi exclaimed. He clutched it to his chest. “I’ll see you tomorrow Usagi-onee-chan?”

Usagi nodded and he skipped out of the arcade.

“You finally beat my high score,” Mamoru said when the boy was out of earshot.

“What do you mean finally? I beat it years ago,” she answered, her back to him. “You’ve been gone a long time.”

Mamoru couldn’t disagree with her there.

Thankfully, Motoki approached and waved to Mamoru. “Hey man, you ready?”

Usagi crossed her arms in front of her. If Motoki thought she was gonna just happily pretend that he’d be in touch with Mamoru for all these years after Mamoru ghosted her, he had another thing coming.

“Right,” Mamoru said. He started to walk towards Motoki, then stopped.

“Usagi,” he said, glancing back to her at the ground by her feet. Like he couldn’t look her in the eye.

She arched an eyebrow. Something she had perfected in the years since he left. He wasn’t worthy of a vocal response.

The silence between them lingered for a while, and she thought that maybe, just maybe, he was going to say, “I’m sorry.”

“We should catch up sometime,” he said. Cop out.

Usagi didn’t answer him. Instead Mamoru sighed and walked away with Motoki. She stood there, arms crossed in front of her as the two men exited the arcade. Catch up sometime? After everything that had happened between them six years ago? After he broke her heart?

Usagi tried walking it off by scanning the arcade. She busied herself walking through rows. She helped someone with a claw machine by moving the prize a little bit closer to the edge of the platform (the guy had been at it for 20 minutes). She was in the process of emptying the change machine when the youma burst through the window.


	2. Usagi’s Beautiful Transformation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi discovers she can become Sailor Moon.

The chaos of the Youma blurred everything. Usagi felt the force of the monster’s intrusion sweep her off her feet. She hit her head against the coin machine and white flashes crossed her vision like little fireflies. Struggling to see straight, she heard the youma first - its weird monstrous roar and the sound of something walking on glass.

Maybe it was the head wound, or maybe it was something more, but in that moment, Usagi couldn’t think of anyone else besides her patrons and that they needed her now.

She stood up and held her hand to her head. She pulled it away checking for blood, and when she saw none, started searching for others. The boy on the claw machine was cowering. She stumbled, her balance thrown off, as she grabbed his shoulder and pushed him into the nearby supply closet. 

She nearly tumbled over the money bag, spilling hundred yens all across the floor, as she rushed to the next machine that had a cowering young girl.

She saw the youma. It was a gruesome shell of a human. Grey skin stretched over a skeleton that had to be twelve feet high. It’s eyes were sunken and it’s hair stringy. Long fingernails and protruding joints. It was holding a man by the throat. The man was glowing, as was the youma’s hand. Energy absorption. A healthy adult could survive the energy absorption, but anyone with a weakened heart or lungs, well, the odds weren’t in their favor.

Usagi rushed in front of the little girl, making sure her body was protecting the child’s. She pointed to the supply counter, “Go. Hide there.”

The girl was frozen, and Usagi knew it was no good. The youma dropped the man, and Usagi looked around for anything she could use as a weapon. With no better option in sight, she grabbed an umbrella and charged at the youma.

She knew it was hopeless, but dammit, she wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

Outside, Minako was walking toward the arcade, Luna curled around her neck. Minako had wanted to thank the arcade girl in person for her tenderness with the cat. But there was also Luna’s suspicion - that there was something more to this arcade girl than just kindness. 

All of this made for timing that seemed too fortuitous to just be coincidental. Minako paused on the sidewalk, watching for just a moment.

The arcade girl was swinging an umbrella at the youma, trying to pull its attention away from something. The something, Minako realized a second later, was a child hiding between arcade machines. A little girl, frozen and terrified behind a Pokemon machine.

Usagi wasn’t much of a warrior. Her form was terrible, yet, it was miraculous that her own clumsiness was keeping the brunt of the attack off of her. She would swing with too much force, and trip over her own feet just as the youma would swipe back at her. When one umbrella broke, the girl grabbed another. Or whatever was closest to her. (Which happened to be a large bag of hundred yen at some point.) 

If she hadn’t been so engrossed, Minako might have intervened sooner.

The arcade manager’s luck ran out, and the youma finally got its hands around her neck. It lifted the girl up, and the girl, for her part, still fought against the youma. Her tiny hands clawing at the youma’s hands or scratching at the arms. She flailed her whole body, kicking at air, but anything to make it more difficult for the creature to keep its hold.

“Now hold still,” the creature hissed, and the energy transference began.

Minako was about to call her transformation phrase when she saw something peculiar happen. Usagi, captured, didn’t stop. She kept fighting, and as her energy started to pour away, a symbol glowed on her head. The symbol of the moon.

A Senshi of the Moon? Minako wasn’t sure of that, but, whatever was happening, Luna had been right about this girl.

“Luna, get to work,” she said. Checking to make sure no one was paying attention to her, Minako called out “Venus Power Make Up!”

Across the room, Usagi could feel her energy draining. It was painful, like pins and needles all over her body. Yet, she felt something deep inside her stir. Something like a memory. Something like power. Something like she could be fighting, and fighting better. But she was missing some key component.

“Crescent Beam!”

And then Usagi (and the arm of the youma) hit the ground with a thud. Now her hip hurt with her head.

“Here,” a new voice said, “Take this and say, Moon Prism Power Make Up!”

A compact slid across the floor. It was about the size of her palm with a golden intricate inlay. Four stones marked the cardinal corners and a crescent moon was in the center. Usagi ran her fingers over the pattern and it warmed to her touch. It whispered her name. Usagi just knew what to do.

She held her hand up and called “Moon Prism Power Make-Up!”

And what she was missing washed over her. There was this soft power, like moonlight on her skin. Ribbons of magic forming armor around her arms, her legs, her torso. The ghost of something more whispering in her ear. A power she didn’t fully understand, but some corner of her soul remembered. This happened in an instant, and she felt different. She opened her eyes, and she realized, that after all the years of playing Sailor V, of wishing she could be a Senshi, of following Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars on the news and blogs, that she was one of them.

“I am the Pretty Sailor Suited Guardian, Sailor Moon,” Usagi called out. “You can’t just attack innocent people relaxing with a few games. So on behalf of the moon, I will punish you!”

Usagi didn’t think, she just let this moonlight feeling guide her. Let the whispers tell her what to do. Her hand went to her forehead, where she felt a tiara. She took the tiara off her head, and it started to spin in her hand. It became a golden disk of power, like concentrated light.

“Moon Tiara Action!” she called out, and like a discus, she tossed the tiara now weapon at the monster.

It cut through the youma like paper, ripping it’s already stretched skin in half. The creature screamed, and it exploded into dust. Little sparkles of energy scattered, and she saw it land on the man who’d been attacked. They absorbed into him, and he started to regain consciousness. Even a few of the particles came her way and landed on her now gloved hand. They were warm and refreshing, and she knew that it was her energy being returned to her.

“Holy Moly,” was all she could say.

Usagi looked at her hands. They were covered in white gloves with a red trim. She ran her hands over her white bodysuit and down the blue skirt. The sailor collar spread across her clavicle and somehow wasn’t as choking as her middle school uniform had been. Red knee high boots with kitten heels tapped against the floor. She felt her face, and found no mask, but a choker and earrings. She looked around the arcade hoping to find some mirror so she could see herself. This was so fucking cool.

But before Usagi could get into more basking, Sailor Venus’s arm wrapped around hers and pulled her quickly from the scene of the wreckage.

Sailor Venus! Usagi’s eyes widen with surprise (and a just touch of hero worship).

“Oh my goodness, Sailor Venus! Is it really you? I’m such a big fan,” she babbled. She barely registered that they were heading out the staff entrance and into the back alley.

Once they were behind the arcade (in the place only people up to no good went), Sailor Venus let go.

“What’s your name?” Sailor Venus demanded.

“Usagi Tsukino,” Usagi answered, happily. Sailor Venus had a lot on her plate; a little bit of gruffness was expected.

“Well, Usagi, looks like you’re a Sailor Senshi,” Venus said. Venus closed her eyes, and yellow magic ribbons unwrapped themselves, revealing the woman in the red bow who’d claimed the cat. “My name is Minako Aino.”

“Woah, how did you do that?” Usagi asked.

“Just relax your mind,” another voice said. The voice, Usagi recognized, was the one who gave her the compact. But she didn’t see anyone else in the alley.

A thump on the dumpster had Usagi looking over to see the black cat she’d rescued. The cat was bandaged, but looking leagues better. Its crimson eyes blinking in anticipation. “So, whenever you’re ready,” the cat said. “We don’t want anyone seeing you.”

Usagi’s eyes widened, then blinked slowly.

“Woah, that cat can talk,” Usagi said to Minako.

“And has a name,” the cat continued, rolling her eyes. “I’m Luna.”

Usagi’s gawking softened. “Luna. That’s such a pretty name. I’m happy to see you again too.” 

She scratched behind Luna’s head, and the cat closed her eyes in appreciation. Minako gave Luna an odd look. Normally, the feline wasn’t much into affection. This new Senshi was going to change things it appeared.

“You need to detransform before someone sees us,” Minako urged.

“Oh right, of course,” Usagi said. She closed her eyes and imagined ribbons, like Minako had around her, unwinding and letting go. She felt the weight of the costume slip away, and she found herself back in her normal clothes, clutching the compact in her hand.

“Woah,” Usagi said. “This is unreal.”

“Well, it’s all very real,” Minako continued. “It appears that you are Sailor Moon. Welcome to the team.”

Usagi smiled. This was all so crazy. Like a dream. Like something she had be wishing for. Like the answer to why her life felt so sucky. Minako, on the other hand, looked less thrilled. The woman appraised Usagi silently, and even Usagi could see she was found wanting.

“I see, we’re going to have a lot to talk about,” Minako continued.

“Yes,” the cat said. “We’ll head to Rei’s place and go over everything.”

Usagi opened her mouth to say, “Of course” but then she remembered the shape of the arcade.

“Oh, shit, I need to call my boss!” she said. “And an ambulance! All those people!” She turned to rush back into her business, but Minako grabbed her arm.

“Will be fine. We have other matters to attend to,” Minako insisted.

Usagi chewed the inside of her lip while staring at Minako’s arm. “But, someone needs to take charge, and that someone is supposed to be me,” Usagi said with a surprising air of authority and certainty. “Once I know that everything is taken care of, I can meet you at... Rei’s?”

Minako dropped her hand suddenly. She was startled by Usagi’s sudden authority, then scowled.

“Well,” Luna interjected. “Be quick. There is a lot we need to discuss before another youma attack. Meet us at the temple on Cherry Hill when you’re done.”

Usagi nodded. “I’ll do my best to get there as soon as I can.”

“As soon as you can,” Minako reiterated. Usagi nodded then rushed through the backdoor into the arcade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank everyone so much for reading and reviewing! But a special thanks to Runic for her awesome beta notes and pushing me to elaborate more (it’s getting there). A special thanks to Matt for reading early drafts and giving me confidence, and to Chelsea for being my writing buddy! And a very special thanks to my husband for making me a better artist.


	3. Life as a Sailor Senshi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi learns more about her new role as Sailor Moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few quick things!
> 
> I have a tumblr! If you enjoy my work, follow me at starlingsinclair.tumblr.com (PS I’m totally new to this platform.)
> 
> I have just realized that I’m supposed to reply to reviews! (I vaguely remember this not really being a thing when I started ff writing a lifetime ago.) So, I promise I’m going to be more on that because I absolutely adore reviews. (They give me all the feel goods.)
> 
> I want to address my chapter length. I know they are woefully shot. I’m working really, really hard on that. (I’ve been scriptwriting for about a decade now, and it’s hard to break free of the tearseness.) And while I can’t guarantee I’m going to have 5k chapters going forward, I can guarantee regular postings - every two weeks like clockwork for the next several months at least. I’m also working on some “interludes” to add between chapters, but the first one snowballed into its own mammoth chapter, so we’ll have to see about that.
> 
> As always, thank you to everyone reading, following, and reviewing! A super special thanks to Runic for her awesome beta notes, and Chelsea, for nailing that crucial element I was missing. Thanks Matt, my Prince Ferdinando, for being my cheerleader. Lastly, but not leastly, to my husband for enduring this and putting T-Rex to bed early so that I can write in the bathtub.

Motoki arrived just minutes after Usagi called. He’d heard via a news alert on his phone that an arcade in Roppongi Hills was under attack. So he cut his lunch with Mamoru short and headed straight towards Crown.

While she waited, she took charge. It was easy and gave her focus. EMTs arrived and starting checking everyone for injuries. The man Usagi had saved appeared to have a clean bill of health, but they were sending him to the hospital just in case. He would be the first case of energy reversal seen in a youma attack. Convincing the little girl to come out from behind the Pokemon machine had proven to be a difficult task, that Usagi only succeed at when she offered candy.

Once everyone else was taken care of, only then did she start to assess the damage. Her heart dropped. Several claw machines were destroyed, as was the change machine she’d been working on when the attack happened. Only about two of the actual arcade machines would need repair, but several windows and chairs were destroyed. If only she had been better, quicker somehow to discover these new powers.

She was doing her best to clean up all the broken glass, but Motoki arrived.

He stood in the doorway a moment. His eyes wide as he scanned through the damage. She tried to watch him and the pained expression that cross his face as each little thing registered. His eyes finally landed on her. He pursed his lips.

“Give me the broom Usagi,” he commanded.

“I’ve got this,” she said, holding the broom close to her.

“Nope. The Usagi I know doesn’t sweep,” he said. “Are you sure you don’t need to be checked out by the EMTs?”

“I’m fine,” she said. She was mostly. (Maybe it was a perk of this new super hero business.) 

“Nope. You’ve just been through a youma attack,” he said and pulled the broom from her clutches. “You need to go home and unwind.”

“I’m just worried about the arcade,” she whined.

“That’s what we have insurance for,” he said.

“But…” she started. Motoki fixed her with his “boss” face. Seeing that she wasn’t going to be victorious in this battle, she relented. “Fine.”

Motoki took the broom from her. “You did a great job today,” he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “But go home, and rest.”

But she wasn’t going home. She was so buzzed. It felt as if she were seeing the world through new eyes. _She_ , Usagi Tsukino, had been chosen to fight alongside real life superheroes. All those years of playing video games, watching Marvel Movie imports, reading magical girl manga, it was all coming together. She had a destiny - to be the Warrior of Love and Justice!

She headed toward Cherry Hill Temple - the place Sailor Venus or Minako had set up as a rendezvous. Usagi had visited Cherry Hill Temple a few times in her life. A year or so back, it had been _the_ spot for charms - good luck charms, bad luck charms, love charms, etc. (Naru had dragged Usagi here during the great charm rush.) The fad had passed, but it was still a well visited shrine. Even rumored that it’s young priestess was a psychic. 

Now, as the sun was setting, the world around the shrine was shutting down. The noise of the cityscape was surrendering to the timelessness, to its historic beauty and nature of the shrine. 

And were there always that many stairs?

Taking a deep breath, Usagi started to climb.

***  
Rei was sweeping the courtyard, finishing her duties for the day while keeping an eye out for the Senshi Minako had told her about. However, she had expected the new recruit over an hour ago. This did not bode well for the new girl. What kind of warrior would this new girl make if she couldn’t even keep to a simple deadline? What did that say about her respect to the position? Or the discipline needed to be a Senshi?

Rei heard dramatic panting and the smacking of feet on the steps. She watched as a woman’s headed peeked up from the top of the stairs, each step more arduous than the next.

“I’m just gonna,” the woman announced before dropping into a sitting position at the top of the stairs. She sprawled out, breathing heavily and clearly not considering the safety or passage of others.

The woman was in her early twenties, short, unkempt, and had a most peculiar hairstyle. Pigtails and buns? Why not just trim your hair if it’s so difficult to manage. Rei decided to ignore her. Though, she was aware of the woman watching her out of the corner of her eye. But Rei had important things to do, and selling charms to some out of shape wimp wasn’t at the top of her list.

“Hey,” the woman called. “Do you know if Minako is still here?”

Rei stopped sweeping. Oh dear lord, please tell her that this brat isn’t their new senshi.

***  
“So, do we have like special communicators or something?” Usagi asked. “Like, calculators that send secret video messages?”

“That is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard,” Rei replied, “We just use our cell phones.”

“Oh, well, that makes sense.”

They were gathered in Rei’s room around a large table. Rei had set out tea for everyone, which Usagi drank rapidly. (Rei wondered if the blonde thought it was sake.) Minako joined them a few minutes later, when Rei was making the tea. Minako had started filling Usagi in on what it meant to be a Sailor Senshi.

“Right! We team up to fight youma and be heroes!” Usagi said. “What else is there?”

“We’re searching for the remaining Senshi, and our princess,” Luna added. “Only then, together, can we stop the Dark Kingdom.”

“A princess?” Usagi said. “Does that mean there’s a prince, and is he single?”

Minako ignored Usagi’s comment and continued, “Once, a long time ago, there was a great Queen. She ruled the moon, and…”

“How?” Usagi interjected.

“What?”

“I mean, the moon is just a big rock. It’s dead and barron. Are we talking like, a figurative moon queen?” Usagi said. “Like a fairy tale?”

Minako pinched the bridge of her nose. “Will you just let me finish?”

Usagi mimed zipping her lips then held her hands up in surrender.

“A long time ago, in the age of myth, the moon was alive,” Luna said. “But the Dark Kingdom destroyed it.”

“The Moon Queen, Queen Serenity, wasn’t able to defeat the darkness, so she trapped it, and sent warriors as well as her own daughter into the future so that one day they could succeed where she failed," Minako continued. “She put all her faith into us so that we could save Earth, and everyone, from the Dark Kingdom. We can’t let her down.”

Usagi raised her hand.

"Yes, Usagi," Luna said.

"Okay, but like, I was born in Tokyo, so how can I be a warrior from the past..."

Rei sighed loudly. "She's talking about reincarnation," Rei said. "Our souls are souls of warriors from a distant past."

"Ah," Usagi said. “That makes more sense.”

"Can we continue?" Minako asked.

Usagi nodded.

"Together, if we find the Legendary Silver Crystal, we can finally defeat the Dark Kingdom," Minako said.

"But the crystal was broken into seven shards," Rei added. "Each shard traps a particularly evil youma. So, we have to find those too."

"How many are left?" Usagi said.

"Six," Minako said.

"So, let me see if I got all this," Usagi said. "So, we're reincarnated warriors hunting down a magical princess, who could be anyone, the rest of our team, who could be anyone, and a six magical jewels that are linked to particularly evil monsters, all while keeping people safe?"

"Well," Rei started, "Yes, but that's an oversimplification."

"This is like something right out of a Sailor V Manga!" Usagi said happily. “She’s my hero.”

“This isn’t some game!” Rei interjected. 

"If we fail," Luna continued. "If the Dark Kingdom gets their hands on the Legendary Silver Crystal first, or even the princess, then all hope is lost."

"That’s why we have a strict training regiment," Minako added. “Tomorrow morning, you’ll meet us here for training. Six a.m. sharp.”

Usagi laughed, but the deadpan looks that Minako and Rei gave her made her laughter die in her throat. “Oh, you were serious.”

“Deadly,” Rei said. “This isn’t some silly video game. You’re not in an anime. This is real life, and people’s lives depend on us.”

“I know that youma attacks are…” Usagi began.

“No, you don’t,” Rei said. She stood up very sharply. “I’m going to make more tea.” Then she stormed out the room.

“You have to forgive Rei,” Minako said. “Her grandfather perished during a youma attack a year ago.”

“I didn’t know,” Usagi said, her heart hurting for this girl she just met. Losing someone as a Senshi, knowing that she could have done something, must be extra painful. For the most part, Usagi’s life had been relatively untouched by the strange and infrequent monster attacks from the last two years.

“It’s part of the reason we’re extra diligent about training,” Minako continued.

This of course, made Usagi feel even worse about not wanting to get up at 6 am to train. “But, I have work,” she whined.

“I doubt you have work,” Luna said. “The damage to your arcade is pretty severe.”

Rei entered with more tea and a calmer demeanor. She took Usagi’s cup from her, then handed her another mug.

“I’m the assistant manager,” Usagi said. “Even if we’re not open, I need to help Motoki file paperwork, or whatever else we may need to get the arcade open.”

“The arcade isn’t your priority anymore,” Rei said. Rei was examining the bottom of Usagi’s cup intently, hoping that she could divine some reason why this airhead was a part of their team.

“Yeah, well, it is my job. And it’s how I keep a roof over my head,” Usagi continued. “I can’t just drop everything. Don’t you have jobs?”

“I live at the temple,” Rei said.

Minako shrugged. “I invested wisely, and work the odd job every now and then.”

Usagi tried not to roll her eyes. “Well, that’s all great, but I have an apartment and bills and I don’t have a college degree, so my options are a little limited. I have a great thing going for me at the arcade, so I can’t just quit my job.”

“Your job,” Rei scolded, “is to be a Senshi.”

Minako held her hand up. “Of course you can’t quit your job, but you do need to realize that all things Senshi come first. Be here in the morning, then you can go to work, and come back after to finish your training.”

“Ooo, afterwards I’m also busy…” Usagi said, cringing.

“What’s so important that you can’t cancel?” Rei said. “Meeting the love of your life?” She slammed the mug down on the table.

“Tomorrow is my friend Naru’s birthday, and I kinda promised I’d take her out,” Usagi continued.

“Don’t you get it? Friends are a liability. You’re going to need to make changes now. Make sacrifices,” Rei said.

“And I do get that. Great power and great responsibility and all that,” Usagi said. “But you have to remember that I didn’t ask for this, and I’m new to this. And it’s not so easy to just leave everything behind.” Usagi stood up. “I think it’s time I go home. I’ve had a long day, and possibly a head injury. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Without waiting for a dismissal, she left the room. Minako looked at Luna, and sighed. “This isn’t going to be like Rei is it?” she asked.

Luna shook her head. “No, but give the girl some time. It’s a big adjustment. And just abandoning her old life would draw suspicion. That’s not what we need right now,” Luna added.

“I suppose not,” Minako said. “Can you keep an eye on her? It’s not that I don’t trust her, it’s just that…”

“Well I don’t trust her,” Rei said. “She clearly has no idea of responsibility, and we were doing just fine on our own.”

“Rei,” Minako said. “We need her. I don’t understand how, but she had the power to reverse the youma energy drain.”

Rei mouth hung open mid-sentence. “What?”

“You girls catch up. I’m going to go follow Usagi before she gets too far away,” Luna said, then let herself out through a crack in the door.

“What do you mean the power to reverse the energy drain?” Rei continued.

Minako shrugged. “I can’t explain it, but I saw it happen with my own eyes. What did you see in her tea leaves?”

Rei grumbled. “She’s going to get lucky if she goes out with her friend. Some sort of long lost love reunion.”

“Well, hopefully that won’t be another complication,” Minako said. “We’re going to need her, probably more than we even realize.”

***  
Usagi’s apartment was simple. She had a bedroom, a bathroom (with a washing machine), and the kitchenette was in the hallway. The little foyer had enough room for her to remove her shoes and have a small hall closet. As small as her apartment was, it was one of the most welcoming places Luna had been in. 

It was a little messy. Things had places, but not everything was in its place. There were dishes in the sink, and clothes overflowing from the laundry hamper. She could also stand to do with a good cleaning, but it had to have been cleaned at some point recently. 

There were pictures everywhere though. Pictures from her school days, pictures of her family, pictures of her with Crown patrons, pictures of her and the Crown manager, pictures of her and friends having good times - singing karaoke, going to the Osaka Aquarium, at Tokyo Disney. There were little souvenirs and prizes from all places she’d been.

It was such a stark contrast to both Minako and Rei’s rooms. Rei kept her room humble and classic. A futon on the floor, a small table for tea, a paper screen for changing. Minako more modern, chic furniture, a large tv, and art from around the world. But both lacked the homeyness of Usagi’s place.

“Oh!” Usagi exclaimed as she nearly shut the door on Luna’s tail. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“It’s all right,” Luna said. “I thought you might need someone to ask questions to tonight. It is a lot to take in.”

Usagi put her shoes in the hall closet (that could really use some organization). She went into the kitchen, digging through the cabinets until she found some instant ramen. Her movements were routine, and she flipped the switch for the electric kettle without even thinking about it.

“It is, but, I don’t really have much to ask. I figure I’ll learn the answers as the time comes,” she said. Luna found this oddly profound.

“I’m sorry,” Usagi started. “I don’t have much to offer you. I don’t really have any cat food, or, maybe you don’t eat cat food. I might have a can of tuna somewhere…”

“It’s quite alright,” Luna said. “Just some water would be fine.”

Usagi found a little rice bowl (cute and most certainly from the one hundred yen shop), and brought it into the bedroom area.

Usagi had a small TV that she turned on, then sat on her bed to eat her ramen. There was a chair and small table beside a sliding door that must have lead to a balcony. The chair and table were covered in clothes. Did the girl not know what a closet was for?

The bedspread was a bright pink number with moons and hearts, which reminded Luna of something a teenager would have, not a grown woman. It was faded and soft and clearly loved. This Usagi girl was quite peculiar.

The two sat in companionable silence while Usagi watched the news. That lasted for about ten minutes before she switched channels to a new anime.

“Shouldn’t you keep up with the news? There may be more information on the lastest youma attacks,” Luna said.

“I don’t know what the news would know that I wouldn’t,” Usagi said. “‘Not only was I there, and I manage the place, but like, I’m also a Senshi. I don’t think the evening news knows much about this silver moon crystal thingy.”

“The Legendary Silver Crystal,” Luna corrected.

“Yes, that thing,” Usagi said. “However, tonight is the newest One Piece episode, and I would like to watch it.”

Luna rolled her eyes. Usagi didn’t make it through the whole episode, before she fell asleep atop her bedspread and completely clothed. At least there was no ramen in her cup to spill onto the mattress. A weird motherly instinct overtook Luna as she looked at the sleeping girl. Usagi still had an innocence that Minako and Rei had lost. Luna’s heart cracked over the thought that this girl would soon lose everything.

She had connections to the world. She had friends and family, which was more than the other two Senshi. It would be harder for her to adjust. But maybe this would be a good thing. Warriors needed to know their people, and Minako and Rei were both so isolated. Maybe Usagi could bring them out of their shells a little bit.

Luna smiled. Tomorrow, she’d help Usagi, not only become a great warrior and perhaps a good friend to her other girls, but become a better woman. They would start by doing the laundry. Then maybe get some fresh fish in the kitchen for Luna.

Content with a plan, Luna pulled the corner of the comforter over Usagi, then curled up beside her and fell asleep.


	4. The House of Fortune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While not the best Senshi, Usagi is a top notch investigator! (Sort of...) Time to see what's up at the House of Fortune. Plus, perks of being a superhero, tuxedo clad rescuers.

Minako whacked the back of Usagi’s legs, a feeble attempt to persuade Usagi’s body to focus better but instead just knocked the girl off her feet again. Usagi was not a particularly athletic person. In high school, some of the coaches passed her just so they wouldn’t be stuck with her terribleness for another year. (Her poor scores in physical education were not the reason she didn’t go to college, but they didn’t help.)

Additionally, Usagi was not a morning person, something she tried repeatedly to express to her new comrades, but they did not seem to get it. The three cups of breakfast tea she’d had that morning (in which she added two extra spoonfuls of sugar for the boost) had to kick in with her superhero abilities at some point, right? It would probably happen sometime after mid-morning, when reasonable people were going about their day. That seemed so far away as she lay on her back looking up at the sky.

“Owww,” Usagi whined.

“Oh, please, that wasn’t so bad,” Rei said.

Usagi rubbed her newly scraped elbow. She was ready to admit out loud what her fellow senshi didn’t seem to want to say: Usagi was a terrible warrior. Like, really bad. She had no natural talent for this at all.

The day had started with basic workout stuff. Usagi couldn’t do a chin-up, had no idea what a plank was, and managed to twist herself into a knot and tumble over doing yoga. (The knot was almost impressive, if Rei hadn’t had to untangle the girl.) Combat came next, with some basic self defense - the kind of thing a woman might take on a weekend. Every aspect of it seemed impossible to Usagi. She’d go to kick, and stub her toe then tumble into her sparring partner.

“How did she not die during that youma attack?” Rei whispered to Minako. Minako, who’d seen the fighting spirit in the girl, couldn't quite reconcile that person with the girl in front of her that couldn’t seem to walk and talk at the same time.

“I’m starting to wonder that myself,” Minako responded.

Usagi was not out of hearing range like they thought and, surprisingly, wasn’t really hurt by the words. She was a terrible warrior, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be useful elsewhere.

“I’m really sorry guys, but I think you have the wrong girl. Can’t I be like a special Sailor Senshi water girl or something? Cheer you on from the sidelines?” Usagi asked.

“Just focus Usagi,” Luna added. “Listen to your instincts.”

Yeah. Usagi’s instincts were to go back to bed and sleep in and hope this was all some terrible nightmare. Then, she tripped over a small crack in the pavement.

“Ugh,” Rei finally yelled. “How are we supposed to save anyone’s life if we’re too busy keeping your ass from being toasted!”

Usagi lay on the ground, admitting defeat. “You’re right,” she said. “I’ll just try harder.”

Rei blinked. That wasn’t quite the answer she was expecting.

“When do we get coffee breaks?” Usagi asked. “I could really go for some hot chocolate right now.”

“Hot chocolate?” said Rei. “It’s like ninety degrees out here.”

“Yeah,” Usagi said. “I don’t drink coffee.”

At 11 am they finally let her take a break. Usagi sighed, drinking tons of Pocari Sweat (which she had to get from the vending machine at the bottom of the shrine’s massive staircase) to desperately replace lost electrolytes and sugar. She’d failed at nearly all fundamental core training, and she kept checking her phone in hopes that Motoki would text her that she was needed elsewhere. 

Of course, when Motoki did text, it was to inform her that the insurance guy wouldn’t even be there until tomorrow. Which meant Usagi had no excuse to go somewhere else. Anywhere else beside this never ending failure.

“Now that morning training is over, I thought we could discuss other business,” Luna said to Usagi’s great relief.

Usagi was lying prone on the cool stone ground near the bamboo garden when Luna brought a strange flyer to the group. It was for the “House of Fortune.” A new and completely accurate fortune telling stand that had opened where a nightclub used to be not too far from Crown. 

“Oooo, I love having my fortune told,” Usagi said.

Rei gave her a death glare. “Fortunes are not something to take lightly. They are rarely good and something that should be heeded.”

“Mine had always been good,” Usagi grumbled.

“Rei is an expert at fortune telling,” Luna informed Usagi. “I did hope to get her opinion on this matter.”

“But there are fortune tellers everywhere, Luna, what made you suspect this one?” Minako inquired.

“There is a nearby hospital that has been treating several cases of what initially appeared to be alcohol poisoning,” Luna explained.

“Well, it’s Roppongi. There’s a happening night life,” Usagi grumbled from the floor.

“Except,” Luna continued, “that the patients were sober, it was the middle of the day, and they had all visited the House of Fortune within the past day.”

Usagi wanted to point out that seemed like a stretch. A, How did Luna even get this information, and b, how come it was being recorded that all these people had their fortunes told within twenty four hours. Who even asked those questions?

Yet, this was an opportunity to do something that wasn’t physically exhausting. Maybe Usagi could become the group’s detective. And it would give her an excuse to skip out on training if she had “investigating” to do.

“Okay,” Usagi said. “Let’s go get our fortunes read!”

***  
The actual House of Fortune was underwhelming to say the least. It was on the third story of a retail building that included on the second floor a bookstore and a discount/tax-free pharmacy. Apparently, this place relied on word of mouth because the sign was even difficult to see.

Rei and Minako were hatching some strange reconnaissance plan, discussing the details in rapid fire whispers. That they would sit at the cafe on the corner and watch as people went up and down the stairs. Hoping to see if there was any suspicious activity.

“The only ones being suspicious here are them,” Usagi mumbled under her breath.

She checked over her shoulder to see if her fellow senshi were paying attention to her. When she felt that they were not, Usagi started up the stairs. The best way to answers was to go straight to the source.

She nearly tripped halfway up the second story stairs when Luna darted under her feet.

“What are you doing?” Luna hissed.

“I’m going to get my fortune told,” Usagi said, stepping over the cat.

“We need to investigate further before we just go in,” Luna said.

“Why? If there was just a giant youma behind that door, then I don’t think people would be mysteriously appearing at hospitals with symptoms of alcohol poisoning. Or that someone wouldn’t have posted on Instagram that there’s some crazy monster at the House of Fortune,” Usagi reasoned.

Luna growled, but didn’t respond.

“Waiting around to see if more people get injured isn’t my style,” she continued. “Besides, I can take care of myself.” Usagi flashed her compact at Luna reminding her that she was indeed a Sailor Senshi. Though, this morning wasn’t the most reassuring trial of “taking care of herself.”

The door to the House of Fortune was an unexciting as this whole adventure. That was until Usagi went to open it, and it smashed into her. She felt a cold hand grip her arm, a bit too tightly, but keeping her from falling. She rubbed her nose that had been unceremoniously bonked by the opening door.

“Please beg my pardon,” the man said. He was ambiguous in age. Maybe he was in his twenties, or possibility thirties, but Usagi was not the best at guessing the age of white men. He was cute though. With short blond hair and green eyes. But even though he was cute, there was something unnerving about him.

“It’s okay,” Usagi said. “I should have been watching where I was going.”

Seeing that the incident was resolved, the man curtly nodded and then headed down the stairs. Luna curled closer to Usagi’s legs, as they watched him go.

“He was a odd one,” Usagi commented.

“I felt negative energy flowing from him,” Luna said. “We should go back and let the other girls know.”

“I got this,” Usagi replied, whipping out her cell phone. “Weird blond guy. Keep look out. Getting fortune told. Text sent! Really, Luna, why waste all that energy going up and down steps when we have technology!”

And with that, Usagi opened the door.

***  
If this was a Dark Kingdom ploy, it wasn’t a very good one. The fortune teller’s interior was small. There were a couple of chairs for waiting guests, and a funny smell like patchouli that had gone stale. A beaded curtain sectioned off the waiting room from what Usagi guessed was the reading room. There was also an attempt at decor, something involving far too much dark purple, and weird red curtains, but it really felt half-assed. Fortune tellers were supposed to be all mysterious and bohemian. Not oddly corporate. Usagi was the only one there. Well, there had been a man here just before hand, but it certainly made her question the effectiveness of this plot.

Two checks that this was probably just some crummy fortune teller.

The beads jangled as a woman stepped through. She wore purple flowing robes, like a weird modern kimono, but also, not very well thought through. She was kinda pretty, but her features were sharp. It actually made her feel a little unnerving and harsh. Not the face of someone promising good futures.

“Can I help you?” she asked. At least her voice was soothing. Entrancing even.

“Yeah, I’d like my fortune read,” Usagi said. She fiddled with her purse. “How much?”

The woman waved her away. “The first fortune is always free. Follow me,” she said and walked back through the beaded curtains.

Free? Now that was suspicious. She checked her phone to see if Minako had responded to her text, but she saw no service. Two checks to possible evil monster. Luna may be onto something. Speaking of Luna, Usagi nodded to the cat, who was hiding behind the sofa, trying to convey with her eyes that she was uneasy. Gulping, Usagi walked through the beaded curtain.

The other side was an equally awkward room mostly void of decorations, except for more red curtains and a circular table with a lavender tablecloth. (Was the Dark Kingdom just really bad at interior design?) The woman was sitting in a high back chair. She gestured for Usagi to sit in the folding chair across from her. Usagi did so as the woman shuffled her tarot cards.

“Tell me, what questions are you looking for answers to?” the woman asked. Her voice was very lulling now, and there was something sleepy about the room in general. It felt sort of like settling down in a cozy hotel room, stale but comforting. But as far as a question? Usagi hadn’t really thought much about that part.

“Are you looking for your future? A successful career? Maybe a breakout Idol performance? Or perhaps you are looking for love?” the woman crooned.

“Umm, I don’t really know,” Usagi said.

“Then it must be love,” the woman continued. “All young women such as yourself long for love.”

Usagi nodded. It was true after all. “Sounds good to me. Tell me a fortune of my love life.”

The woman started humming while placing the cards on the table. The hum wasn’t melodious but droning. She lay seven cards on the table, six cards in a circle, one in the center.

Usagi felt her head getting heavy. She blinked several times. The cards seemed like they were glowing vaguely. They lifted off the table, standing straight up. The rocked, moving like a pendulum on a metronome. The first one spun over, spinning round and round on its corner.

“The lovers,” the woman said. “You have a deep connection to someone. A soulmate perhaps.”

The second card spun over, joining in the first like two wind spinners. Usagi blinked her heavy eyes. 

The woman continued. “The Two of Cups. He’s recently wandered back into your life…” 

Usagi swayed. The third cup joined the rotation. 

“The Knight of Cups, interesting. Someone is looking out for you. Not that that matters much,” the woman added, a sinister smile spreading across her face.

Usagi didn’t realize she was slipping until a sharp pain shot through her ankle, like something bit her. Something did bite her. A cat. She jolted back upright. She blinked, feeling something break.

“What are you doing?” she howled. She intended the question to be for Luna, but it was the fortune teller who responded. It was then Usagi noticed that the cards were pulsating and spinning on their own. Uh-oh. That had to be a Dark Kingdom checkbox.

“Well, I was trying to be quiet about this, but if you’re going to put up a fight,” the woman said, her features sharpening, her skin changing to a sickly green. “I’ve been quite bored with just telling fortunes. I’ve always preferred the hunt.”

And Usagi realized that Luna had indeed been onto something. Maybe monsters don’t show up on Instagram.

***  
Sailor Moon crashed from the window. She felt the free fall and thought, this is it. She was going to die at a botched undercover sting as a botched superhero thrown from a third story window. At least, that’s what she was sure of until she felt strong arms wrap around her and change her momentum.

A man in a full tuxedo, cape, and top hat, held her at the top of a streetlamp. The creature formerly known as a fortune teller, and who had conveniently told Usagi that her name was Balm (really, Balm? What kind of monster is named after a soothing ointment?) before lunging at her, leaned out the window looking quite blood thirsty and more like the youma she’d hoped she wouldn’t find. Both of these images were equally as surreal as the whole endeavor. Who knew being a superhero was so bizarre.

“Are you all right?” the man asked. Sailor Moon looked at him and felt her heart flutter. His identity was concealed by a thin white mask, but really, with a jaw like that, cheekbones to match, and the way he carried her like she was a bag of flour suggesting he must have the strength of the Rock, this man was a total heartthrob.

Maybe there were some perks to being a superhero.

“I am now,” she said. The tuxedoed stranger hopped down to the street and gently set her down. She smiled bashfully at him.

“Tuxedo Kamen, what the hell are you doing here?” Sailor Venus asked. The youma roared above them. Usagi, however, was more interested in the fact that she had not been briefed that she might encounter a handsome, damsel-saving other superhero. Minako was holding out on her.

“Ah, Sailor Venus, a pleasure as always. I just happened to be in the neighborhood when I saw this Sailor suited companion of yours falling to her doom,” he retorted.

Venus put her hands on her hip. “Well, thanks so much for this unexpected generosity, but we’ll take it from here. Sailor Moon, get away from him. He’s not our ally.”

Not an ally? He surely couldn’t be an enemy.

The youma chose this time to jump from the window, crashing into the pavement and leaving a crater. That was going to be a problem later on. (Superhero lesson 102: collateral damage can really rack up.)

“Fire Soul!” Sailor Mars cried out. Pointing her fingers like a gun, she shot flames into the youma.

Tuxedo Kamen also joined the fray, pulling out a cane sword and swiping at the monster. Cane swords shouldn’t be sexy, but damn, he was doing a great job at changing that.

“Crescent Beam!” Venus called out, and her beamed actually clipped Tuxedo Kamen. He growled as he exited melee.

The youma, incised, turned its attention to Sailor Moon and charged. Usagi stood there petrified. She hadn’t even been the one to attack!

“Sailor Moon!” Mars cried. “Move!”

Tuxedo Kamen plowed into her, knocking her to safety. “Really, you shouldn’t make this a habit. I thought damsels in distress were outdated,” he teased. They were in quite the provocative position, with him on top of her, faces inches apart. She was going to savor this memory later.

“Thanks again,” Sailor Moon whispered. “If you can’t tell, I’m really new to this.”

“I figured. I hadn’t seen you before,” he answered. He helped her up, holding her hand a little longer than was necessary. “Sailor Moon, right?”

Usagi nodded. His voice was practically a purr it was so deep and rumbly. She was just putty in his hands.

“All right, Sailor Moon. Show me what you can do,” he said. And she wasn’t sure if it was just because he was sexy and she wanted to impress him, or because he’d actually just asked politely, but Usagi pulled herself together.

“Moon Tiara Action!” she called, hurling her tiara into the youma, who was grappling with Sailor Mars. The youma seemed shocked as her glowing discus sliced through her. Sailor Mars did too, probably because she thought it was going to slice her in half as well.

But the youma disintegrated, and the threat was over.

“Not bad, Sailor Moon,” she felt Tuxedo Kamen whisper into her ear. “Until next time.” She looked over her shoulder and he dashed off, a flurry of capes and rose petals. She was definitely smitten.

Sailor Venus grabbed her arm roughly. “Come on. We have a lot to discuss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I feel like this is the point where the story picks up. It was so much fun writing Usagi as rushing into danger, which, seems really fitting.
> 
> Also, I hear y’all loud and clear! I didn’t realize I’d made Rei quite so… antagonistic. Don’t worry though, she’s going to warm up over the next few chapters, and her loyalty definitely shines through in later chapters.
> 
> If you’re enjoying this, please comment! Comments definitely make me happy. And feel free to reach out to me on Tumblr: starlingsinclair.tumblr.com
> 
> As always, thanks for reading! (My wonderful husband is super jealous my fic has more alerts than he has on Twitch. It’s become my chance at bragging rights in the house.) Super special thanks to Runic and Chelsea for beta-ing. Matt, my prince, as always you are my favorite person to send Sailor Moon memes to in the middle of the night across time zones. And my lovely husband, for letting me sneak off to write while the toddler was sleeping.


	5. Too Much To Drink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi decompresses a little too much at Naru's birthday celebration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m looking for a beat-reader! Specifically, someone who feel like really diving into things. I am not the best at recognizing my shortcomings, and I need someone to point them out so I can try to improve. I also aim to put out quality work, so, a beta is very much needed.
> 
> Secondly, I’m changing the rating of this fic. After a lot of debating, I’m keeping the explicit ending I wrote to this chapter because ultimately this is a mature retelling. If you want to read the fade to black version, you can check it out at ff dot net cross post.
> 
> And of course, thanks for reading! A special thanks to Runic for beta-ing, and to Matt, for alpha-ing. The most special of thanks to my husband, for reading this when it’s not your cup of tea, and giving me confidence to continue.

By the time the sun was setting, Usagi was beyond excited to see Naru. It had been such a long day. Not only was she possibly out of a job, since her arcade was going to take weeks to be repaired, which meant no paycheck, and possibly lose her apartment because of said job loss, but it turned out that she was terrible at her new role as Sailor Senshi. A role that she couldn’t actually tell anyone about. No one to gripe to; no one to share the excitement. 

The world was truly a rough place.

And tequila sounded like an excellent idea right now.

She waited outside the club. She was early for once, and the line for the Dark Pandora show that night hadn’t really formed. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

After the battle at the House of Fortune, Minako had ripped her a new one.

“How careless were you? You could have been killed and we wouldn’t have even known,” she’d ranted. Over and over. They were supposed to be a team! There was an order to how things go. Minako was the leader for a reason. And Luna should have known better. 

Usagi had wanted to argue back. To point out that Minako’s wait and see approach would have resulted in more people hurt, and that even though Usagi had been reckless, everything had also worked out fine. Plus she _had_ sent a text.

In all of the reaming out though, Minako hadn’t gotten around to Tuxedo Kamen. And that was the real question Usagi wanted to know. She was used to being a failure, but she was not used to handsome men in formal wear rescuing her. After the long lecture, they had sent her home, (with Luna of course because Usagi could not be trusted alone), which was all fine with Usagi. She had to get ready of course.

Oddly, Luna hadn’t said much on the way home. Except, “They’re just worried. You did a good job today.”

At least someone wasn’t disappointed with her.

“Boo!” Naru said, poking Usagi in the ribs.

“Thank god you’re here,” Usagi answered, smiling and opening her eyes. “Let’s go celebrate.”

Today was Naru’s birthday after all.

“I bought a couple of tagalongs. I hope that’s okay,” Naru said, pointing behind her. 

Umeno, was of course in tow. He’d been a real dweeb in his early teens, but he’d bloomed into a handsome, smart, and stable young man. He ditched the thick glasses for contacts. His hair was a bit shaggy, and he wore a tee-shirt, skinny jeans, and converse sneakers with a blazer. He was a computer engineer for Microsoft's Japan division, and he made a lot of money. Not only had he grown real easy on the eyes, he was also the most successful person of her friends.

Umeno had carried a torch for Usagi for years, but at some time during the end of high school, that torch shifted to Naru. Naru, bless her heart, was completely oblivious to this development. Though honestly, Umeno wasn’t a bad catch. Usagi was almost envious that she couldn’t land him. At least then she wouldn’t be in a crummy apartment.

Behind him, Motoki waved, and Mamoru nodded. Usagi’s stomach fell. She had really believed that this night couldn't get any worse, but she had been wrong. She gave Naru a meaningful look.

“Really,” Usagi said, “you brought him.”

“It’s good to see you too, Odango Atama.”

Usagi spun on her heel. “I need tequila!”

In the short period of catch-up, a line outside the club had formed. At the door, Usagi was carded (no surprise since she barely looked legal), as was Naru, but the boys were left alone.

“See that,” Usagi whisper yelled to Naru, “that is some sexist bullshit.”

They were handed purple flowers after having their hands stamped. Naru pinned hers to her shirt, and Usagi pinned hers in one of her buns. The boys, on the other hand, weren’t sure what to do with the strange favor.

The club was large and split into two areas (and a small hall near the restrooms lined with lockers for rent). One had a stage for the concert, but the first room had a bar in the center and several booths for private conversation. The walls were decorated with disco ball mosaics and geometrical lights hung from the ceiling. The crowd was starting to mill, so they hit the bar first.

“First round on me!” Usagi cheered. “Well, for everyone except you,” she added pointing at Mamoru.

“Are you sure you can afford that?” Mamoru shot back. “I mean, with your job in limbo.”

Usagi turned beet red, and if this were a cartoon, steam would have come out of her ears. Motoki punched Mamoru’s shoulder in a more than playful manner.

“Dude, that’s not cool,” he said. “Of course she has a job. I’m going to make sure the insurance covers any loss of her salary during repairs.”

Thank god for Motoki. Usagi whispered a prayer of thanks that at least she hadn’t lost her job. Or her apartment.

“I was just joking,” Mamoru said, blushing, and pulled his credit card from his wallet.

“In honor of the beautiful Naru’s birthday,” Umeno interjected, putting his arm between everyone with a credit card in hand. “My gift shall be the tab. For everyone.”

Mamoru may be a doctor, but even he could recognize that Umeno’s black card was going to go a lot farther than his. So instead he tossed his flower on the bar as a sign of surrender.

“Naru, my dear,” Umeno said, laying it on thick, “what are we having.”

In true Naru fashion, she ordered something trendy. Highballs for everyone. Usagi downed hers and then followed it with a shot of Habiki. As much as she wanted tequila, one did not mix booze and expect to wake up in the morning.

“Shots already, Odango,” Mamoru teased. “I mean, I thought those usually came later in the night.”

Usagi rolled her eyes. “Only for those who are weak.”

“In that case, I’ll have what the lady is having,” he said to the bartender.

Challenge accepted. Usagi waited for him to get his drink before they downed it together.

“Another?” Mamoru asked, and Usagi, unwilling to let the challenge go, accepted.

“Guys,” Motoki interjected, maybe you should slow it down.

“I’ll be fine,” Usagi said. “I can hold my liquor.”

“Are you saying I can’t?”

In Usagi and Mamoru’s minds, it looked something like the scene from Indiana Jones. Usagi repraised Marion and Mamoru the grabby bar patron. Though, Mamoru thought himself Dr. Jones. The shot glasses piled up, but both of them stood their ground. The world around Usagi was blurring, as was Mamoru, and later they would both say that it was much later in the night, but time has a weird way of working when you’re shitfaced.

After the sixth shot, Umeno cut them off.

“That’s enough,” he said.

“He started it,” Usagi slurred.

“It really doesn’t matter who started it,” Naru said. “It needs to end.”

“Yeah,” Usagi said poking Mamoru in the chest. “You heard the birthday girl.”

“Well, maybe if a skinny little thing like you could actually hold your liquor,” Mamoru retorted, wobbling as he did.

“Skinny! I’m perfectly healthy, and I can so hold my liquor,” Usagi continued.

“Oh really, then why are you slurring?”

“Why can’t you stand straight?”

“ENOUGH,” Naru said. “The band hasn’t even started!”

“I think you two need some fresh air,” Motoki said, grabbing them both by the backs of their necks. “And you need to talk it out!”

He pushed them out a fire exit.

***  
“Hey!” Usagi said, slamming her hand on the metal door. She pulled at the handle, but it was locked from the inside. They were going to have to wait for someone to let them back in. “Ugh, this is so your fault.”

Usagi slouched against the door, and did her best to try to stop the world from spinning. The exterior air was brisk compared to the heat of the bar (or the booze). It was just enough to sober her up a touch.

“How is it my fault?” he retorted.

“Because it’s always your fault.”

“I wasn’t the one who use to hurl random projectiles my way.”

“Jesus, that was years ago!”

“Well, we haven’t spoken in years!”

“And whose fault is that, Mamoru-baka?”

Mamoru stared at her. Whose fault was it?

“You’re such a fucking idiot,” she whispered.

“You don’t have to get vulgar,” he said, leaning on the wall beside her. He couldn’t stand straight, and he felt too vulnerable with her watching him sway.

“Well, I’m not seventeen anymore,” she said. “I wish Motoki would have at least brought us some water. And maybe some rice.”

“Rice would be nice,” Mamoru said. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was the years of reasons he’d built in his head, but, he asked, “Why _are_ you being so mean to me?”

“Me, being mean? Are you for fucking real right now?”

Mamoru kinda stared at her a little slackjawed. “I mean, we weren’t exactly the friendliest, but we were never mean…”

“You ghosted me! After the most perfect day of my life. Did you not think it would hurt?,” she said, and wiped a tear from her eye. 

Oh right. He had done that. Years ago. While everything seemed to fall right back into place, that didn’t undo years of silence.

“I didn’t want to let you down,” he said. “That jerk you were dating…”

“That jerk who was just like all high school boys? So, you stepped into his shoes? Took me to Tanabata Matsuri instead? Showed me how romantic my longest crush could be,” she said hotly. She pressed the heel of her hands into her eyes. “I thought I was fucking in love with you.”

 _In love with you_. They echoed through his ears. Something seized in his chest. Wasn’t that what he dreamed of her saying? Why he let another blonde tell him those words, imaging they were from Usagi’s lips?

“Usagi…”

“You’re a fucking asshole Chiba Mamo-”

He cut her off with a kiss. His hands cupped her face, and he pushed her against the door, knocking the strange little flower from her hair. He kissed her hard with all the years of anger and passion he’d held on to. She returned the kiss in kind, jumping up and wrapping her legs around his waist. His hands went to her hips, then slid to her butt, hoisting her into a more pleasing position.

He moaned. This in turn, caused her to nip at his lip. Her hands slid down his chest, finding his waistband. She pulled at his belt buckle. He was very firmly reminded this wasn’t the little girl he’d left behind all those years ago. He started to pull away, then her hands were on the side of his face pulling him back in. 

He moaned her name into her lips.

“We should stop,” he said. Restraint. Dear lord he needed restraint. Was she ready for something like this? He wasn’t sure he was ready for something like this. Plus Motoki could come through at any moment, and he didn’t want to hear the I told you so.

“Why,” she asked kissing his neck. Her legs slipped from around his waist, but she pulled him closer to her by his waistband, fingers slipping below his belt just teasingly enough. He groaned and kissed her again.

“Motoki,” he choked out.

“Then let’s get out of here,” she whispered. Her fingers pulled down on his waistband, as if she meant to pull his pants off. He wasn’t sure if he said okay, but he did grab her hand and call a cab.

Time moved in blurs, in the way it does when someone is drunk out of their minds. Soon they were in a taxi headed to his place. Kissing up the elevator (and providing quite the scandalous show through the video feed on the first floor), bumping into the walls because neither wanted to let the other go. He managed to get the door open, and they stumbled in, lips locked.

The height difference was driving Mamoru mad, so he lifted her up so she sat the back of the sofa. She broke the kissing to take her shirt off. Mamoru paused.

“Usa, we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to…” he started.

She pulled hard on his shirt, like she wanted to rip it off him. “What makes you think I’m doing something I don’t want?” she said, kissing his neck up to his ear. She bit his ear lobe.

“Usagi,” he moaned. “We should take it slow.”

Usaig pulled away suddenly. “Wait,” she said. “Do you think you’re my first?” She looked at him quizzically. Then started giggling.

“Well,” he stuttered. “I don’t know what to…”

She slid off the back of the sofa and to her knees. She unbuttoned his pants, and slid his penis through the opening of his boxers.

“And now I’m not thinking at all.”

Her fingers were delicate against his shaft, and she licked his head. He moaned and grabbed the couch back for support.

Usagi, entertained by this reaction, slowly took him into her mouth. This was a much more enjoyable way to torture him.

“Usa,” he moaned.

As she move him in and out of her mouth, she pulled his pants down. He was not in enough of a state of undress for her liking. They broke apart long enough for him to kick away his pants. She was back at it when he took off his shirt.

She enjoyed tasting his precum when he pulled her very sharply to her feet.

“Did I do something wrong?” She asked, suddenly nervous. She been with men before, but she’d never been quite so assertive. Of course, there’s never been someone she wanted so much or already felt so close with.

He pinned her between the sofa and kissed her.

“Nope,” he said breathing heavily when he pulled away. “You’re doing everything right.”

She sent him ablaze like no one else had, and he knew that he wouldn’t make it much longer if he didn’t get her to stop. Where had she learned to do that? 

Her hands slowly moved up his chest, and he never wanted her to ever stop touching him. And there was still too much clothing between them, so he took off her bra. With care, she noticed. He had wanted to rip it off, but he knew undergarments were expensive.

He kissed down her neck, then sternum, kissing between her breasts while he kneeled before her. She arched her neck backwards in pleasure as he did so. He kissed her navel, the slowly pulled at the waistband of her skirt, hooking his fingers in her underwear too. He looked back up to her for confirmation to continue. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew it was the alcohol giving them the courage to go through with this, but he felt more sober and more drunk than he ever had in his entire life. He wanted this more than he could express, and he wasn’t about to fuck this up with her

She was nervous; he could see it in her eyes. Her body shivered slightly under his touch, but she put her hands on his and guided him while he undressed her. He nipped her belly with a smile and heard her kitten moan as he continued kissing down to her vulva.

Her hands went to his hair as he slowly licked along her clit. She cooed in unexpected pleasure. He took that was encouragement.

“Mamoru,” she moaned and shuddered with pleasure. He breath coming rapidly as she unconsciously spread her legs for better access.

As much as he wanted to make her cum right there, this had been a fantasy of his for too long. He was going to draw this out as long as he could.

With a very gentle nip, he pulled away and slowly licked back up towards her stomach. Her hands tugged him back down and she groaned in disappointment. As he stood he lifted her up, her legs wrapping around him, above where he’d like her to be wrapped, which he was sure was payback for leaving her on the cusp. He kissed her passionately, and she used her thighs to push his boxers off. It was unfair that he didn’t match her state of undress.

Clothes scattered about, he moved toward his bedroom. A more difficult feat than expected when intoxicated while the woman he’d most desired was kissing down his neck and shoulder. He couldn’t discern if the dizziness was from the alcohol or from his desire.

He slowly laid down with her in his bed, careful to not place any of his weigh on her. She moaned and closed her eyes as his penis brushed against her. Her hands slipped down him to help guide him to her.

“Wait,” he begged softly.

She groaned in disapproval. Words were not her strong suit at the moment.

He reached into the drawer on his nightstand, desperately looking for condoms he kept there. (Usagi’s hands and lips seemed to be everywhere making the search pure torture.) He hadn’t had a woman stay over since he moved back, and he’d hoped he’d just chucked the box in there. Finally, his hand found the familiar shape, and he pulled it out the drawer.

Grunting with success, he used his teeth to rip the package open.

“So that’s what you were doing,” Usagi purred And took the condom from him. “So thoughtful,” she whispered teasingly.

Her hands wrapped around him, and she slid the condom on. Mamoru had never felt such relief that he could just let all control go. 

He pushed into her, and she arched into him in pleasure.

They found a rhythm quickly; their bodies understanding faster than their minds. She nudged him and he rolled over, pulling her on top. Her face in bliss as she rode him. One of his hands cupped her breast and the other gently rubbed her clit. She moaned loudly and her breathing quickened. He could feel as she started to slip into ecstasy, her body loosening, tilting over him, and he sped up.

She moaned his name and platitudes as she began to lose herself. Then he kissed her as she climaxed. He could feel her tighten around him in her orgasm which sent him into his own.

The moment seemed to last for infinity and end too quickly at the same time. They kissed as they came down together. He held her tightly to him. They were still kissing when she slid off him, and he discreetly disposed of the used condom.

The exhaustion of the day and the booze took hold and neither was quite sure when, but they drifted off in each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to add, this is my first try at writing a sex scene. Ever. O.O I debating even posting it, but my husband encouraged me to put it and myself out there. So, yeah... I hope I didn't upset anyone too much with the rating change.


	6. The Mysterious Sleeping Sickness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leaving the club early might have endagered Usagi's friends as a mysterious sleeping sickness hits Tokyo.

Usagi woke naked, alone, in a strange bed, with a pounding headache. At least the sheets were really nice. Not silk, but they had a high thread count. They were a navy blue, in a bedroom that had a large window and its own balcony. Her head hurt so much, and she tried to remember how many shots she’d had with Mamoru. 

Oh god. 

Mamoru. 

He couldn’t find her here. Well, he wasn’t here, so this had to be a mistake.

Wrapping the sheets around her, she searched the floor for her clothes, and came up empty. So she did the most sensible thing. She raided his clothes. She found a tee shirt hanging in his closet (who hangs tee shirts up?), which she threw on, and hoped to God no one was in the living room, where she was pretty sure she’d discarded her clothes..

She slowly cracked the door open. Peeking out, she sent a silent prayer in hopes that he wouldn’t be there, and that there wouldn’t be the awkward conversation where they both would say that they had drank too much. That it had been a mistake. Usagi wasn’t sure she could take it if he felt that way.

But what she found in the other room stopped her in her tracks. She could see Mamoru through the little opening of the bar that sectioned off his kitchen. He was shirtless and... cooking? The little dining room table was covered in the biggest breakfast spread Usagi had ever seen. There were eggs and bacon and oatmeal. Cold cereal, pancakes, and waffles.

She slowly walked out, staring at the feast before her. Was he expecting to feed an army? Was he hosting a breakfast party?

“Oh good, you’re up,” he said, walking out of the kitchen in lounge pants, barefoot, with a frying pan. He seemed a little embarrassed, and... nervous? He kept trying to figure out where to put the eggs, while avoiding direct eye contact. 

“I didn’t know what you’d want, so, I just made everything,” he admitted.

Everything? 

“You made all this for me?” Usagi asked, intimidated.

“Um, yeah,” he said awkwardly, finally putting the pan down on the table. He wasn’t looking at her again, afraid she’d reject him in the light of the morning. “I have orange juice, coffee, tea…”

Usagi didn’t let him finish. She grabbed his face and kissed him. Anyone who’d make a feast because he didn’t know what she’d want didn’t view this as just a one night thing. This wasn’t a mistake.

The kissing was less forceful and more unsure. His hands stayed above her waist. He was being surprisingly chase considering his lounge pants were doing a terrible job at hiding his feelings. Deciding they were too far apart, she jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around him. She felt him smile into the kiss as his hands lowered to her thighs.

“Breakfast will get cold,” he told her, his voice guttural.

“Let it,” she said, using her foot to try push his pants off.

He kissed her again and set her atop the sofa back. 

“Deja vu,” she mumbled into his mouth, and felt his smile.

As they kissed, his hands trailed up her thighs and over her hips, relishing in the lack of clothing. Usagi untied the drawstring of his pants, fingers dipping in the waistband.

“I see you’re not wearing underwear,” she flirted.

His thumbs traced her pelvic bone. “Must be the fashion this morning,” he retorted, kissing down her neck.

“Who needs fashion? Or clothes?”

She pulled back just far enough to look him in the eyes. He was just as hungry as she was, but he seemed far more restrained. She gripped the hem of the tee shirt, and slowly started to lift it.

He put his hands on hers, stopping her. “To be clear, I’m thoroughly enjoying this, and want to continue, but..”

Fear creeped into her. She wasn’t usually so emboldened, but something about Mamoru put her at ease. But did he not want this?

“But what?”

“I don’t need to rush. Last night we were not our… most thoughtful selves. This morning,” he struggled for words, “is different. I only want this, if you want this.”

She blinked at him. “You do know a man making me an epic breakfast feast is one of the hottest things that’s ever happened to me right?”

He laughed, a deep belly laugh. His head fell to her shoulder, and she nipped his ear. “Please say you’re not going to make me put on underwear now,” she whispered.

“Nope.” He grabbed the hem of the shirt and pulled it over her head very quickly. “But you’re not the only one who can be assertive.”

He kissed her, then wrapped her legs around him. His hands found her breasts, cupping them, his thumb brushing her nipples. She gasped, startled, then giggled. He pinched her nipples in response.

She reached for his drawstring, but he stopped her.

“Wait,” he said, reaching in his pocket and pulling out a condom.

“You had a condom in your pocket? “ she asked. “Were you expecting…”

“Not expecting,” he answered. “Wishing, sure. I mean, I do have a penis after all.”

She laughed and took the condom out of his hand. “You don’t have to,” she said, waving the condom in his face. “I’m on the pill.”

“Hmm, well,” he said taking the condom back, “for now. We can have a deeper discussion about that when you’re not naked and I have blood flowing to my normal head.”

She smiled. “Okay.” She pushed his pants down.

He pressed into her with a passionate kiss. His penis was warm against her belly. She ran her finger over the tip, and he moaned into her mouth. He fumbled opening the condom, and quickly slipped it on.

“Should we move to the bed?” She asked breathless.

“Why?” He answered, and thrust into her.

She let out a little startled gasp of pleasure. He pulled her to the edge, leaned in, and began thrusting. She bit his shoulder. It was a particularly pleasing angle. He smiled, happy to be pleasuring her. He reached into her hair, and pulled out the remains of her buns, letting her hair go everywhere.

“Hey,” she said, half breathless, half indigent. “My hair.”

“I have always wanted to do that,” he replied. “Not that your buns aren’t super sexy.” He thrust extra hard with that statement. 

She tilted her head back and groaned, “Oh my god that feels so good.”

Smiling, emboldened, he leaned her back, and slipped his hand between them. He started to rub her clit. She moaned louder, breath coming quickly. He listened and matched his thrusts to her, recognizing her closeness. When she did cum, he moved carefully, letting her ride out her own orgasm to fulfillment.

He pulled her close, when she was done, slowly grinding into her. She had the cutest smile on her lips. 

She pushed off the sofa, ending their contact, to shift him. She nudged him to the floor, then crawled on top. In moments, he was back inside her, pleased that she was still willing to continue. Her hair was everywhere, creating a sort of canopy around them.

He stroked her cheek. “Usa,” he whispered, lovingly.

She had a devious gleam in her eye as she took control. She moved slowly on him. Going up, then down, in a tortuously, delicious way. His hands gripped her hips. She took them, slowing trailing them up her torso to her breasts. He gratefully squeezed. She thrust faster for just a moment, then slowed again.

The look in her eyes was pure mischief.

“Enjoying yourself?” he teased, his voice husky.

“Very much so,” she said.

He curled up to meet her in a kiss, letting her believe she was still in control. He took her wrists in his hands, then rolled her over, pinning her hands above her head.

“Hey!” she exclaimed. “I was enjoying myself.”

He smirked at her. “You’re a tease.”

He held her hands above her head with one hand, and used the other to move her leg over his shoulder.

“Oh,” Usagi moaned. “Wow.”

Her eyes were fluttering, and he was doing his best to hold out for her second orgasm. (He was reasonably sure he’d found her g-spot. And he was trying to engrave that into his memory.)

She arched into him, moaning, eyes closed.

“Usa,” he groaned. She could feel him holding back, waiting for her, it made her heart feel full. She pulled her arms out of his grip, not that there was much resistance, and took his face into her hands, kissing him lovingly. He rested on his elbow, pushing deeper into her. Her leg slipped down some, wrapping around his torso as he moved his other arm to cradle her.

Her pants matched his, their trusts in sync, and she found herself staring into his eyes. He pressed his forehead to hers. They moaned as they came together.

His face rolled off hers, until his forehead was resting on the carpet beside her. He was still atop her, and she nuzzled him, basking in the afterglow.

“Wow,” she whispered in his ear. “I’m pretty sure that was better sober.”

He laughed and kissed her, slowly removing himself and rolling over on the floor. She sat up, tracing a little heart on his well sculpted chest.

“Well, I think I worked up an appetite,” she said.

“Good,” he said. “Because I think I cooked everything in my kitchen, and then some.”

She put his tee shirt back on, and he managed to drape his lounge pants over himself. He sat up, and leaned back against the leg of the breakfast table. Usagi grabbing his coffee cup and some waffles, sat in his lap, snuggling into him.

“You’re coffee’s cold,” she observed, mouth full of waffle.

“Worth it,” he said, nuzzling her neck, and taking the cup from her. 

The silence that fell between them was peaceable, comfortable. Eventually, they would need to talk. About the outcome of the night before and this morning and the week he left for Med School. But, not right now.

“I’m going to have to go to work soon.” He hadn’t wanted to look at a clock, but he knew time was running out.

“Call in sick,” Usagi answered, tugging at his pants.

He grabbed her hand because he knew that if he didn’t stop her, he would never leave. “Mmm, that is tempting, but, I really, really can’t.”

Usagi pouted. She wasn’t ready for this little honeymoon to be over.

“But, I want to see you later,” he said, kissing up her neck. “Come over for a late dinner? Or a drink? Or whatever?”

“Mamoru, are you asking me for a date? Or a hook-up?”

“Date? With benefits maybe? I really just want to see you,” he said pulling back. “Unless you don’t…”

She could see the panic in his eyes, that maybe he’d misread her. That once he left this little experiment between them would be over. She kissed him with a wordless reassurance.

“It sounds lovely,” she said. He smiled.

“I guess I need to shower,” he said.

“Mind if I join you?”

And eventually Mamoru did make it to work, though, for the first time in years, he was late.  
***  
Mamoru left Usagi with his spare key so she could take her time leaving. She ate more than her fair share of his breakfast spread, then texted Naru and Motoki. Normally, she would be at work, but since Crown wasn’t going to be open, she found herself with unexpected free time. Sure, she could have messaged Rei or Minako to get in some training, but she thought they might not want to see her after yesterday. And she didn’t want to see them. So she thought she’d spend the day with Naru for a post-birthday shopping spree.

She picked up the leftovers, then headed home to change.

“And where have you been?” Luna called, as she closed her apartment door. “I’ve been worried sick all night. I know you were going to be out late, but, it’s well into the morning”

“I think this makes an excellent point for needing communicators,” Usagi teased.

Luna growled. The cat had a fondness for the girl, one that had developed quite quickly, but she wasn’t in the mood for games.

“Where were you?” Luna asked again.

Usagi opened and closed her mouth, trying to figure out how to articulate just where she was the night before. “I was too drunk to make it home, so I stayed at a friend’s,” she said carefully.

“And you’re just now getting home?” Luna asked. Usagi blushed.

“We had a late breakfast,” she said. Luna looked skeptical.

Since her apartment was so small, and there was nowhere to hide, Usagi decided her phone could provide the best interference.

Neither Motoki nor Naru were answering their phones, and had it not been for Luna’s own paranoia, she probably wouldn’t have thought much of it at all. They were all adults. They had been out having fun. Hangovers and silences weren’t unusual. But, now that youma were more than just things she heard about on the news, she worried when she got radio silence. Stupid cat had a point about checking in. This was another point for her about the need for communicators.

She went by Crown, but no one was there. She stood there a moment, thinking about everything, looking at the ruins. The street window was still broken, with caution tape on the window, but, the glass had been swept up. The buzz and beeps and lights that were usually the heart of the arcade were off. The quiet and darkness felt so wrong.

When she didn’t find Motoki, she decided to go Naru’s. Naru would enjoy the impromptu visit more. When she knocked on Naru’s door, and got no answer, Usagi panicked. She pulled out her phone and texted Minako and Rei.

Twenty minutes later, Rei and Luna met Usagi outside her friend’s house.

“Really, I don’t see what the big deal is,” Rei said. “It’s only like eleven am. She’s probably hungover and sleeping. Or maybe, what a strange idea, she’s at work because it’s Tuesday!”

Rei took out her lock picking kit. She thumbed through the tools as Usagi continued.

“Naru took off for her birthday,” Usagi said, “and we were supposed to go shopping.”

“Well, what did she say last night when you left?” Rei asked.

Usagi nervously rubbed the back of her head, and Luna filled in, “Usagi didn’t come home last night.”

Rei looked between Luna and Usagi, her eyebrow arched. She was a cat toying with a canary.

“I stayed with a friend,” Usagi said, as innocently as she could.

“A friend.”

“Yes.”

“A friend with benefits I assume?”

Usagi’s blush said everything for her.

“You devil you, abandoning your friend on her birthday for some guy you met at a bar,” Rei teased with a Cheshire Cat grin. She turned and focused on the lock.

“Who said it was a guy?” Usagi added defensively.

“Oh, a lady then?”

“No, a guy, and he wasn’t just some guy I met at a bar…” Usagi added. “We have… history.”

“Right. You met this him at a bar before,” Rei said. “Got it.”

“Ugh, no, it’s complicated, and I’m seeing him again. Tonight. After he gets off work,” Usagi defended.

“I meant the door,” Rei said. Usagi threw her hands up in the air.

“After you Usagi,” Luna said, nodding toward the now open door. Usagi sighed and walked in.

Naru’s apartment was smaller than Mamoru’s, but considerably larger than Usagi’s. She only had one bedroom as well, but a full kitchen and a living room. Usagi and Rei took their shoes off in the foyer while Luna went ahead. The walls were a pale blue, and the furniture new. Everything had a place and everything seemed to be in its place. It was very Marie Kondo. There were several pictures of Naru and Usagi through the years, Motoki and Umeno occasionally making an appearance. None of the lights were on.

“Naru?” Usagi called into the apartment.

“Maybe she’s just not home,” Rei said.

“Girls! Come quick!” Luna called out, sitting on the back of the sofa. The girls rushed over and found Naru, sitting in a daze with a purple flower on her lap, staring at her laptop. Her laptop was playing a ten hour loop of Dark Pandora music, the band they’d gone to see the night before.

Usagi kneeled beside her friend. She took the zombie girl’s hands, and quickly dropped them. She felt that energy drain, the pins and needles, that she’d felt when the youma was draining her energy.

“Naru,” Usagi said. “Come on, you have got to snap out of it.”

In a weird delay, Naru answered, “Usagi? Is that you?” Her eyes couldn't leave the screen, though her head started to turn towards Usagi. But in that slo-mo way, her head turned back towards the screen, absently bobbing along.

“Naru?”

“Shhh, I’m listening,” Naru said. She sighed contently.

Usagi looked up at Rei.

“Okay, you may have been on to something,” Rei said.

“When I touched her, it felt like a youma draining my energy,” Usagi said. “But, how is that possible?”

“This must be a Dark Kingdom ploy, but I’ve never encountered anything like it,” Luna added. “Rei, perhaps your powers can give us some insight?”

Rei nodded and closed her eyes. She folded her hands in front of her, much like she did when summoning her fire. Her hands moved in a circle, feeling out energy. When she opened her eyes, she pointed to the flower in Naru’s lap.

“That,” Rei said, “is evil.”

“That’s the flower we got from the show last night,” Usagi said.

“So, why weren’t you affected?” Luna asked.

“Where is your flower?” Rei asked.

Usagi put a finger on her chin, concentrating, trying to remember what she did with it. “It was in my hair, but, that was before…” _Mamoru’s hands were all over me_ , she finished silently with a blush. “Um, probably on the ground of the alley beside the venue.”

Rei raised both eyebrows. “The alley, you say. What were you doing in the alley that caused you to lose a flower?”

“It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s not with her,” Luna said. “I don’t want a time bomb lying around. Now, what are we going to do about Naru?”

It surprised both Rei and Luna when Usagi reached in and pulled the flower from Naru’s lap. Once the flower was out of Naru’s hand, the young woman fell over, exhausted. Rei checked her pulse, and nodded in relief.

Usagi could feel the throbbing drain of the flower, and now that she had it, she could see it oscillating pink and purple with power. Unlike a direct youma siphon, this wasn’t as strong of a drain, but, something more insidious. And perhaps, if she’d been in a club, listening to a band she really liked, (and especially if she had been drinking) she wouldn’t have noticed the dull pulsing.

Usagi didn’t know she had started humming. “This music is really nice,” Usagi said, feeling the hypnotizing effect of the music.

It was Luna who put together the music part. She pressed pause on the computer. Usagi blinked in confusion.

“Aw, why did you stop the music?” Usagi said.

Rei pointed at the flower. “Because it only seems to work when the music is playing,” she added.

Usagi looked at her friend, who was sleeping on the couch.

“Should we call an ambulance?” Usagi asked.

“I don’t think so. The energy drain seems to be much smaller than an attack,” Luna added. “I suspect she’ll just sleep it off and assume it was a very bad hangover.”

“It’s rather ingenious,” Rei said. “Drain her little by little. Less likely to draw Senshi attention.”

Usagi nodded and turned the flower over in her hand. It seemed especially innocuous now that it wasn’t draining her energy. A purple lily with pink stamens. It was pretty, and she could feel it calling her. Telling her to just add music.

“So, we could have just stopped the music and it would have worked,” Rei said. “You didn’t have to do something quite so stupid.”

Usagi shrugged. “Yeah, well, either way. We’re all fine.”

“But onto more important things, who else were you with last night? We need to track down these flowers and get them out of people’s hands before something bad happens,” Luna said. And Usagi’s heart sank as she realized that even though Naru was out of danger, her other friends weren’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all the reviews! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy. A very special thanks to Xhibt B for beta-reading. And thanks to Runic for sneaking some last minute notes to me. Erica and Matt, y’all are great at reassuring me that I’m not going in the wrong direction. And a big thanks to my husband for being way too good of an alpha reader. And calling out my lazy suspense tactics in my early drafts.


	7. The Price of Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi rushes to Motoki's while Mamoru faces an emergency at work.

Mamoru was never late. She glanced at the clock in the exam room. 9:48. Then again, there’s a first time for everything, or so Ami thought as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“No ma’am. This is not a teaching hospital. I am the surgeon for your son’s procedure,” Ami continued. Deep breaths. So what if living in such a deeply patriarchal society meant a penis automatically commanded more respect than youngest person to be staffed at Saiseikai Hospital?

“But, you’re like what, twenty-one?” the woman continued.

“Twenty-four,” Ami corrected.

The woman looked at her skeptically. Ami wasn’t going to dignify her with an explanation.

“Do you have any further questions about your son’s _procedure_?” Ami continued.

The mother held her toddler and narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you usually work in teams?”

“Yes. My partner is unavailable this morning, but of course he’ll be there for your son’s procedure. Now, do you have any other _pertinent_ questions to the procedure?” Ami continued.

“No. I don’t think so,” the woman said.

“Okay, to reiterate, no food after 9pm, and only clear liquids until after the surgery,” Ami said. Then smiling, she walked around the woman to look at her two year old patient in the eyes. “Take care buddy. I’ll see you next week and fix you all up. Okay?”

The little boy stared at her, eyes filling with tears, then started wailing.

“Check in with reception before you leave. They have stickers,” Ami added before walking out of the exam room. Closing the door behind her, she took a deep breath. Mamoru was so much better at this part, this people part, than her. At least there was some down time before the next appointment. She hurried into their shared office.

Two desks were situated side by side. Both neatly organized with little in the way of personal effects. Ami had a small Ecosphere with four little red shrimp on her desk, and Mamoru had a orchid that was thriving far to well in her opinion. Neither had much in photographs.

There was a wallet sized farmed photo of Ami’s mother beside her keyboard. She picked it up as she sat in front of computer. Being a doctor like her mother was something Ami knew she wanted to be since she was very young, and so her path in life had always been clear. Her thumb absently rubbed over the photo’s ribbed frame.

She glanced over at the empty desk beside her, then at the clock. Ten am. She furrowed her brow. Mamoru was an excellent person to have as her partner. He was almost as good at medicine as she was. Her certainly was a dedicated. Plus, Mamoru had been only a year ahead of her in school, also having completed college early. It provided some comfort knowing they weren’t so far apart in age.

Shaking her head, Ami logged on to her computer to type up her patient reports. She liked to be very prompt with them. This meant she almost missed the door to their office opening and Mamoru stumbling in.

He had a small smile on his lips and he sat down at his desk without saying hello. He was distracted, a bit disheveled, and… relaxed? Ami blinked. This was a side of her colleague she hadn’t seen in their six months of work together. He almost looked like a teenager. Could he have… met someone?

Ami blushed at the thought. Even though she may have had a small crush on her coworker, she didn’t really believe anything would come of it. It would be impossible not to be slightly attracted Mamoru Chiba. He was Hollywood gorgeous after all. But his history seemed to include a broken engagement with an actress, so plain Ami never really put any stock in her chances. Besides, she had someone. Sort of. When he was in the country.

Deciding that he simply must not have noticed her, Ami asked, “Are you alright Mamoru?”

“Huh?” he asked, breaking out of whatever trance he’d be in, “Ami. Sorry. Didn’t see you there. I’m fine. Just, had a very interesting night.” He paused. “And morning.”

“Weren’t you out with your friend?” Ami asked.

“Yeah, but, I ended up... bumping into a different old friend,” he said with a goofy grin. And Ami understood that there was an innuendo under “bumping.” She did her best not to blush. Was it the actress? Or someone else? She was not wise in the world of love and too shy to pry.

“But, I’m sorry, I’m late. I was… tied up,” he added and blushed. Ami, figuring out that “tied up” was also an innuendo, decided to try something different.

“Well, I hope that it was at least a relaxing tied up,” Ami teased.

Mamoru’s eyebrows lifted, and for a second, Ami worried she’d overstepped a boundary. Spending so much time in academia and pushing herself forward definitely meant a shortage of friends. But then Mamoru laughed, a full deep, rich laugh.

“Oh, relaxing is one way to put it,” he said. “And I hope there will be many more relaxing times.”

Ami and Mamoru shared a smile. However, their friendly banter was interrupted by a knock and the door swinging open. The nurse looked panicked. “Um, Doctor Chiba? Doctor Mizuno? You’re needed in the ER.”

The humor left the two surgeons, and they headed to the pediatric ER.

It was a girl about fourteen years old, and she showed symptoms of a youma attack. Except, the teen had been found in her room, listening to Dark Pandora. No signs of struggle, no defensive wounds. She was drained in a way that hadn’t been seen before, and it didn't seem like much that could be done. 

Mamoru, got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was too coincidental that she was listening to Dark Pandora the morning after a concert. Especially since she was brought in with a familiar purple flower in her hand. He might have missed something really important last night, and he hadn’t heard from Motoki.

***  
Usagi and Rei were hustling to Motoki’s house while Usagi did her best to reach Umeno. She didn’t bother with text, and just went straight to calling. He wasn’t answering, and she lost reception as they waited at the JR platform. All she could do now was watch the tracks, and wait the seven minutes until she was back in cell phone reception.

Rei sat on a bench with Luna in her lap, patiently waiting for the next train. Usagi paced the platform.

“I’m sure Motoki’s fine,” Luna said.

“Though he appears to have really bad luck,” Rei added. “I mean, losing his business and then his energy in the same week? Damn, poor guy.”

In a strange moment of cellular clarity, Usagi’s phone pinged. She quickly looked at it, hoping it was Motoki or Umeno. It was Mamoru.

_Have you heard from Motoki, by the way?_

Her message back failed to send, and Usagi clutched her phone all through the short train ride. She only put the phone in her pocket when she reached Motoki’s house. 

He owned a moderate home that was a seven minute walk from the train station. She hurried to the front door, hand raised to know. Her heart dropped when she heard the muffled sound of music through the door.

Usagi raised her foot and kicked the door.

“Owww!” she screamed holding her toe and hoping.

“Yeah, doors aren’t easy to kick in, even with superhero powers,” Rei said. She brushed past the injured Usagi and knelt to work on the lock. After just a second, she twisted the knob and opened the door.

“That was fast,” Usagi commented.

“It was unlocked. Maybe check the door before you kick it next time,” Rei said, holding the door open for Usagi.

Usagi rolled her eyes then cautiously entered Motoki’s. 

The music blaring inside felt like a force hitting the women. The lights were off, and the place was lit only by the bits of daylight that streamed through the uneven curtains. She felt like a burglar, not like a rescuer. Usagi thought about calling out to Motoki, but it would be useless over the din.

In the entryway, she removed her shoes. There was a table with some dusty silk flowers on it - a relic from Motoki’s engagement. Her heart ached for him. It must be lonely coming home every evening to a place that never became the home it was meant to be. She continued down the hallway, passing the bathroom and a closet. The house opened up into a western style open kitchen/living room kitchen with stairs leading to upstairs bedrooms in the corner.

“Motoki!” Usagi screamed. “Motoki can you hear me?”

She walked slowly into the room. The living area contained a cream colored sofa set with only the sofa showing signs of wear. A small crease here, a chip in the leather there. A mostly empty curio cabinet sat against the wall with a Geode and a handful of netsukes inside. Beneath the marble topped coffee table were a few outdated textbooks on entomology below a few current issues of gaming magazines. Beneath the large screen TV were a series of dusty photographs telling a incomplete story: the whole Furuhata clan; Motoki’s graduation day; a beautiful woman with long, wavy hair and smiling green eyes - Reika; the smiling couple on the day of their engagement; and a picture of Usagi, his sister, and Motoki whose eyes sparkled less, from the previous summer. The last photo had been Usagi’s Christmas present to him.

Rei walked slowly behind Usagi. She didn’t need her physic abilities to tell her all was not well. As Usagi pressed forward, Rei glanced around. She was the one who found him. The blond man was laying on his sofa, looking almost peaceful. His clothes were disheveled - a wrinkled button down that had clearly been slept in. His shoes were still on. The large purple flower was pinned to his shirt pocket, resting over his heart, and pulsating purple.

“Usagi!” Rei called above the noise.

“We have to stop the music,” Luna said into Rei’s ear. Rei nodded in agreement.

While Rei looked for a remote to turn the music off, Usagi rushed over to her friend and boss.

“No, no, no,” she cried over him.

She shook his shoulders.

“Motoki, wake up!”

Nothing.

She pressed her fingers to his neck to feel for a pulse. Still there, but faint.

She pinched his arm. No response.

Groaning in frustration, she slapped him. No response.

Rei, however, turned sharply towards Usagi. She bit her lip. She needed to turn the music off now.

“We have to do something!” Usagi screamed.

“I’m trying!” Rei shouted back.

She swiped at the broach, but it held tight to his shirt. Stupid Motoki for actually pinning the damn thing to him.

Her fingers fumbled with the clasp. She could feel the flower start leeching off herself. It was like a blanket of sleepiness draping over her. The music pounding in her ears like her heart. It would be so easy to just get lost.

But she couldn’t. She thought briefly of a time as a middle schooler when she would have given anything to just sleep in. If she were younger, she was positive she would have succumbed to the siren call.

Finally loosened, she tossed the broach across the room. The music died as well. Rei, having given up on finding any sort of remote, was behind the entertainment center, holding out a plug.

Usagi breathed deeply. The fatigue was still there. She turned to look at Motoki. He was also still unconscious.

“Is he alright?” Luna asked, slowly creeping up.

“I don’t know,” Usagi said. She shook his shoulder, then gently called, “Motoki?”

His head lolled to the side.

“I’m calling an ambulance,” Rei said, pulling out her cell phone and pacing.

Usagi felt tears rush her eyes. She’d been so stupid. If only she hadn’t had quite so many shots. If only she had stayed the night before instead of running off with Mamoru. Now she had these super powers and there was nothing she could do. 

The purple flower taunted her from the floor. Rei was talking with the dispatcher on the phone, but Usagi could barely make it out. All she could feel was anger. She took all the pent up rage, at losing Crown, for harming her friends, and stamped down on the flower. 

As she crushed it under her heel, she heard a cracking noise. At first, she worried that she’d somehow broken Motoki. That somehow crushing the flower had crushed him. Yet, the pink energy spilled out from beneath her foot and flowed into the air, fluttering like glitter in the wind. It settled on Motoki, glowing brightly as he absorbed it.

The glow faded and the two girls and one cat watched with bated breath. The silence was louder than the music had been. The stillness stretched into an eternity as they waited for the sounds of sirens.

Suddenly, Motoki took a deep breath and his eyes blinked open. 

“Motoki!” Usagi cried. She wrapped her arms around him. “You’re okay!”

Motoki blinked. He felt so tired, drained. What was Usagi doing there? He rubbed his eyes.

“What happened? How did I get home?” he mumbled.

“Oh, well, I guess I wasn’t the only one who’d had too much to drink last night,” Usagi laughed.

“What time is it?” he asked, looking around for his phone.

“Like, noon,” she answered.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Um,” she stuttered. She rubbed the back of her head, then looked to Rei and Luna for help. Rei shook her head no, then walked out of sight. For her part, Rei didn’t want to upset the man with her presence. She and Luna went to wait by the door for the ambulance to arrive.

Usagi silently cursed them. She took in a deep breath. She needed to think quickly... 

“Mamoru hadn’t heard from you, and I happened to be in the area, so I dropped in to check on you!” she improvised.

“Mamoru… Where did you two go last night?” Motoki began. “I went back to get you, but you were gone.”

“Um!” Usagi flushed bright red. “Well, he took me home?”

“Took you home?” Motoki said, slowing regaining his wits. “Like, back to his place or to the train station?”

Luckily for Usagi, fate intervened. Rei had let the EMS into Motoki’s house. 

The two EMS workers were kneeling by Motoki, bombarding him with questions. For his part, he was even more confused. He wasn’t sure if that was because of Usagi’s blaise comment about Mamoru taking her home or because there was an emergency medical team taking his vitals.

“So you think it was a youma attack?” the EMS worker questioned Usagi.

She nodded. “It seemed that way. I only came by to check on him when he didn’t answer his phone,” she said. “I didn’t see any youma. It may have been gone by the time I got here.”

Motoki remembered thinking it strange that he wouldn’t remember the youma attack, but maybe Usagi was just projecting onto him. It would make sense with everything going on.

“His vitals are acceptable, though a bit low. Let’s take him in for observation anyway,” the second EMS guy told the first. They nodded to each other. “Do you think you can walk sir?”

Motoki nodded, and with help, stood to his feet. As he was walking away, he looked over his shoulder at Usagi. “Don’t think you’ve gotten out of answering my question!” he called back to her.

Usagi followed behind at a great distance. She met Rei outside.

“Is he going to be okay?” she asked.

Usagi nodded. In her pocket, her phone buzzed. A welcome name flashed across her screen: Umeno.

“Umeno!” Usagi answered eagerly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? I wasn’t the one who did six shots of whiskey with her high school nemesis in under fifteen minutes,” he answered. “I was in a business meeting when you called. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” she answered. “You don’t happen to remember what you did with that flower they gave us from last night?”

“Oh, I gave mine to some other Uberfan, though, she looked a little young for a club,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t get the big deal, but Motoki and Naru were like entranced or something. They just wanted to go home after the concert and listen to more music. It was weird. Maybe it’s just not my cup of tea.”

Usagi laughed. “No, I guess not.”

“Speaking of, where did you disappear off to?” Umeno asked.

“What’s that Umeno? I can’t hear you you’re breaking up! I’ll talk to you later,” she said and then hung up on him. 

“Your other friend?” Rei asked. 

Usagi nodded. “At least he’s okay, but what about all the people I didn’t know? What will happen to them?”

“I don’t know,” Luna said. “But let’s get this flower to MInako. Perhaps we can uncover something.”

***  
Mamoru texted to ask if he could bring a colleague from work with him to meet up with her at the izakaya tonight. He’d had a rough day at work, and he and his friend could really use a drink. 

Usagi agreed, though, she was a little sad that it wouldn’t just be the two of them. She was hoping for a date after all. The place was near the hospital and on the basement floor. The stairway down was a touch claustrophobic. There wasn’t much to the actual establishment. It was low lit, but well stocked. There were four booths and plenty of stools along the bar. A few others in scrubs occupied the booth farthest from the door, so Usagi decided to grab them a booth before it became too crowded.

She was waiting for them when Mamoru walked in with a pretty woman in tow. She was just a few inches taller than Usagi, with short dark hair and a doe-eyed expression.

Both Mamoru and the woman looked like death warmed over, and Usagi worried what had happened that day. She briefly worried that he was bringing her in a snide gesture to show he was taken and the night before was just a mistake.

However, his face brightened when he saw Usagi.

“Usagi, this is my partner, Ami. Ami, Usagi,” he introduced. Usagi’s eyes widened.

“Hi,” Ami said with a wave. Her voice was soft and sweet. “Nice to meet you.”

“Partner?” Usagi asked.

“Surgical partner,” Ami filled it. “In pediatric surgery.”

Relief rushed over Usagi. Different kind of partner.

Ami slid into the booth across from Usagi. She brushed her hair behind her ear then found a coaster to play with.

“What will you two have?” Mamoru asked.

“Um, I don’t know,” Ami said. “What are you getting, Usagi?”

“Highball,” Usagi said.

“I’ll have one of those,” Ami said, and Mamoru nodded then headed off to the bar.

When Mamoru was out of earshot, Usagi stage whispered, “Do you know what a highball is?”

Ami flushed pink, and Usagi found it highly endearing. She giggled. “I take it you don’t drink much,” Usagi added.

“No,” Ami conceded. “I don’t get out much. I prefer to stay in with a good book.”

“I can respect that,” Usagi said, “Even if I don’t understand it.” 

Ami smiled.

“You’re a doctor?” Usagi asked amazed. Ami had to be her age, Mamoru was smart and several years older so of course he would be a doctor, but for this girl to be a surgeon… she had to leave him in the dust in terms of smarts.

Ami blushed. “Yes.”

“But you’re so young!” Usagi continued

“Youngest surgeon hired at the hospital,” Ami said, trying not to look as proud as she felt.

“Well, you go girl,” Usagi said. “When Mamoru gets back with the drinks we’ll have to toast.”

Ami looked away sadly.

“Or not,” Usagi added. “He said you had a bad day at work. Can I ask what happened?”

“There was a teenager that came in today. And we did everything we could, but,” Ami looked off. “It was like she was in a youma battle, but, there wasn’t any sign of struggle. But, we couldn’t do anything…”

Usagi felt her stomach drop out. She hoped that maybe the girl wasn’t related to the flowers and the concert. That somehow it was unrelated, but she knew in her gut that it wasn’t. She let her mind wander for just a bit. If she and Mamoru hadn’t been fighting, and drinking, and well, generally ignoring the world, would she have been able to help them? Or would she be a victim right now, losing energy in her apartment, alone, with no one to rescue her? And no one to rescue Naru or Motoki, or possibly even Mamoru?

Mamoru came back and set two drinks in front of her, a highball and a shot of whiskey. He’d purchased the same for himself, and just a highball for Ami. He knew Ami enough to know that she wasn’t going to handle the shot well.

“Did you really just get us shots?” Usagi asked as he slid into the booth next to her.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and winked. “I do have such fond memories,” he said.

“It was literally yesterday,” she said. His grin just kept getting wider, then he took his shot. Usagi rolled her eyes and followed suit.

“I would also like to point out, that you Mamoru Chiba, have shit taste in whiskey. What the hell was that?”

Mamoru bust out laughing, and even Ami giggled at it.

“I need a palate cleanser,” she said picking up her Highball. “So, here’s to you two, and doing the hard job you have to do.” 

Ami clinked her glass with Usagi, who winked at her, and the three shared the toast. The evening continued smoothly, with small talk about work and Ami prying embarrassing stories of Mamoru’s young adulthood out of Usagi. Mamoru continued buying several rounds, then made sure Ami got back to her home before calling a cab for him and Usagi. And when Usagi suggested that she should probably get back to her place, he followed her. Usagi didn’t complain. Both of them could use the companionship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s Ami!!! Dun dun dun!!! I had some very specific ideas for how the characters still became connected in this alternate future. There’s still a couple of surprises in store with that though.
> 
> Anyway! Thank you everyone who is reading! Reviews are always welcome.
> 
> A very special thanks to Xhibit B and Runic for beta-reading. Without Xhibit’s help there would still be a note to myself in this chapter. And a much weaker description of Motoki’s apartment. Also, thanks so much my prince Matt and Bee for reading through all the rough drafts to help me assemble a story bible. It has been invaluable. And as always, thank you my loving husband, who has no real clue about Sailor Moon and saw a Codename Sailor V manga in the kitchen and went “Wait. That’s a real thing? You didn’t make it up?” in reference to Minako’s backstory. I love you.


	8. A History of You and Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi fusses over her first "date" with Mamoru and reminisces on her romantic day with him six years ago.

It was finally happening. Mamoru was taking Usagi on a real date. And she was panicking.

A real date. Not getting drunk at a club and going home with him. Not getting drunk at an izakaya and going home with him. Oh lord, was she capable of spending sober time with him? Okay, yes, they had spent some sober time together, but everything seemed so much easier when inhibitions were gone.

And what was she going to wear? Usagi stared into her closet.

“I don’t know why you’re even looking in there,” Luna interjected. The cat sat atop a large pile of laundry where a coffee table used to be. “It seems everything you own is on the floor out here.”

“You are not helping Luna!” Usagi griped.

Luna pawed away some of the clothes on the pile, then tugged at a simple black dress. “I think this would be a nice choice.”

Usagi groaned. “You don’t understand. Nice isn’t good enough. This has to be the perfect dress!”

Luna’s expression resembled the closest thing to cocking an eyebrow a cat was capable of. “I thought things were going well with you and this Mamoru. I mean, you haven’t been home the last couple of nights…”

“Yeah, well, this is the first time he’s taking me out in public,” Usagi said. Luna stared in disbelief.

“Okay. That’s not exactly true. This is the first time it’s a real date. Like, classic date stuff. Expensive dinner. Something cultured. Then maybe another night at his place. Shit, I need my good underwear.”

Usagi started rummaging through her laundry and pulled out a lacy blue matching set of bra and panties. She sniffed them. Eh, passible.

“Why don’t you call your friend Naru then,” Luna said. “Maybe she can offer some insight.”

“Great idea!” Usagi said, grabbing her cell phone. She opened up her text thread then stopped. “Terrible idea!”

“Why?” Luna asked, genuinely baffled.

“Naru doesn’t know that Mamoru and I are dating,” Usagi said.

“So?”

“I don’t want to tell her yet,” Usagi said.

“Why ever not?”

“It’s super complicated. But let’s go with Naru would not approve,” Usagi said. She flopped down on the bed.

“Well, then maybe you shouldn’t be taking this so seriously,” Luna chided.

Maybe she shouldn’t care so much about what Mamoru thought of her. If he really cared, then he wouldn’t have cut off all contact six years ago. Then what about the anxiety in his eyes when he’d held that skillet of eggs? No, Mamoru was a different man now. He didn’t seem like he was going to waste this new chance.

“Nope. Naru is wrong,” Usagi said. She looked down at her phone. Who could she text? Motoki’s sister Unazuki? No. Then it would get back to Motoki. Did Mamoru tell Motoki? Probably not, otherwise she would have said something by now. Motoki couldn’t keep a secret to save his life.

Usagi scrolled through her contacts, but, many of her friends had long since left Tokyo. Or gotten married. Or she simply just didn’t see outside of Facebook. What about Minako? Mmm, probably not. That would lead to a canceled date and more boring, pointless meetings on the mysterious purple flower. She chewed her lip, then paused at the next contact.

Her finger hovered over Rei’s contact info. She and Rei got along. Ish. Rei also seemed like a classy gal. Rei had helped with all the flowers after all. Maybe she could help now…

Usagi carefully composed her text.

***

Rei was lying in bed, scrolling through Instagram. It was a guilty pleasure of hers, so she limited her exposure to no more than twenty minutes a day. Most of the time. So, she saw the text as soon as it appeared.

Usagi: _I need your help._

Rei sat up. Her mind racing. Was Usagi okay? Where was the monster? Why wasn’t Minako in this text?

Rei: _What is it?_

Rei stared at her phone screen, watching the three dots that signaled someone writing. She chewed her lip.

Usagi: _I need to borrow a dress_

Rei’s jaw dropped. Resigned, she closed it. How dare that brat bother her with such trivial matters! She was a very busy woman and...

Rei looked around the room. She wasn’t busy right now. It was her day off, and she was alone. She couldn’t even go into work if she had wanted to because the other priests had told her she’d been working too hard lately. 

But why would Usagi message her?

Rei: _Don’t you have other people to bother with this?_

Usagi: _You’re so sophisticated! I need like a real adult friend._

Rei smiled at the comment. Sophisticated huh? She sighed, looking at her small closet, mostly filled with robes. Still, there was a small corner for herself. Some fabulous dresses her father had bought her that she rarely used. Plus, it beat spending the day alone in her room.

Rei: _I’m on my way._

***  
“I thought you needed me for Senshi business,” Rei said, walking into Usagi’s apartment. She carried six or so dresses over her arm and was a little nervous because it was the first time she’d been in someone else’s living space in years. She hadn’t even been to Minako’s. They’d always met at the temple.

Usagi took the dresses from Rei then rushed over to a mirror. She wore an oversized tee shirt, and from what Rei could tell, some very fancy blue panties. Using the hanger, she held the dress in front of her, weighing it’s potential.

“If you really thought that, then you wouldn’t have brought dresses!” Usagi said, switching over to a different dress. This one was red with a boat neck and three quarter length sleeves. “I knew you’d have something classy!”

Rei smiled when she thought Usagi wasn’t looking. 

Walking towards what she could only assume was a chair, (it was hard to tell with all the clothes on it), Rei asked, “Luna, how do you survive here?”

Luna was curled up on laundry that hid the coffee table. “I eke out a space when it’s not date night.”

Usagi was shimmying out of her shirt and into the red dress. Rei looked away, surprised by Usagi’s boldness. She wasn’t sure why exactly. Maybe it was that no one in her adult life had ever been so comfortable with her before.

“Is this bar guy?” Rei asked.

“Huh?” Usagi answered.

“The guy you snuck out with at the bar. During the Dark Pandora thing,” Rei said, smirking like a fox.

Usagi turned beet red.

“It is!”

“He’s more than just a bar guy,” she said. “Like, ugh, we have, a bit of a history?” Her face contorted as she looked for the right words.

Rei waggled her eyebrows. “History?”

“We were kinda arch-nemeses as teens,” she said. She smoothed the front of the dress as she watched in the mirror. “Then, he did this super nice thing, and ghosted me for six years.”

“And you want to impress this man why?” Luna interjected. “Your friend Naru is on to something. You’re wasting your time.”

Rei looked pensively at Usagi. When she’d first met the woman, she had read Usagi’s tea leaves. At the time, she brushed it off. What did love have to do with Senshi business? But it wasn’t just any love. True Love. Soulmates. It was such a strong force that it was all she could read in the leaves. Was it possible that this asshole could really be the one for her?

Usagi chewed on her lip. “I think I’m oversimplifying.”

“Then un-simplify,” Rei said, lounging back into the chair. “I’m not in any rush. I just got here. Besides, I could use a juicy story.”

So, Usagi told her.

***  
Usagi and Mamoru met one lackluster day outside Naru’s mother’s jewelry store. She had been walking Naru home in order to avoid her mother and the inevitable punishment she would receive for bringing home such an abysmal test score. In a last-ditch attempt to hide the evidence, Usagi had thrown it over her shoulder and hit Mamoru in the face.

“Ow, are you trying to make bumps on my head too? Odango Atama?”

So it began.

For three years, Usagi and Mamoru had been... frenemies. At fourteen, he’d teased her mercilessly about everything from her poor test-taking abilities to her fashion choices. The inevitability that Mamoru would somehow be nearby whenever she did something embarrassing became the cornerstone of their relationship. The reality was, he just visited the same arcade as her since his best friend worked there, and Mamoru was quite terrible with people.

At fifteen, she’d mastered retaliation. For every insult he hurled, she had a quip to fling back at him. Their word games became legendary. Their aggression dimmed. He’d even started tutoring her in math. Many afternoons they would sit at the cafe above the arcade while he worked through her homework with her. She never became particularly good at math, per se, but she stopped failing.

At sixteen, she’d found herself in Mamoru’s inner circle. They still primarily interacted in insults, though any maliciousness (if there had been any to begin with) had long since faded. It took Mamoru finally seriously dating a girl named Hina for Usagi to realize that she had a little bit of a crush on him. The guy was hot as hell, in college, completely aloof, and suddenly completely unavailable. As his only female friend, she was the one he turned to for dating advice. It had felt like salt in a wound.

At seventeen, Mamoru and Hina faded away, and Usagi started dating. Kaito wasn’t terrible as far as boyfriends go. He was above average in looks and below average in personality. He was selfish and impulsive. Usagi was enamored with being enamored more than anything over their seven month relationship.

Their years of unusual friendship shifted irrevocably the day Kaito broke Usagi’s heart.

She’d made it through the school day. She thought that she would have made it to Crown, and Motoki, and someone whose shoulder she could cry on, but she didn’t. Instead, she’d stumbled, heartbroken, into the alley beside Crown, and just cried. She knew it was a terrible place to be. Nothing good ever happened in Crown’s alley. Of course, that made it the perfect place to wallow in heartbreak.

She watched Mamoru notice her in the alleyway. She watched him hesitate, then walk over to her. She didn’t want to play their name-calling games. She didn’t want insults. She didn’t want someone who hesitated.

“Go away Mamoru. This isn’t the time,” she said, voice hiccuping.

“I’m not here for…,” he paused, inhaled sharply, then continued, “Usagi, are you okay?”

She shuttered. He never called her Usagi. For three years she’d been Odango Atama, baka, kid, and on occasion, Usa. But not Usagi. Hearing him say her name now just made everything feel so much more real.

She turned into him, tears slipping down her cheeks. The hesitation was gone, and he wrapped his arms around her. They stood that way for a long time. She sobbed, snotty and tearful into his ridiculously soft, and expensive, yet stupidly pink shirt. He held her securely, rubbing slow circles on her back.

“Kaito,” she finally whimpered.

She felt Mamoru stiffen. When she didn’t continue through her sobs, he darkly said, “He didn’t… do something to you, did he?”

She couldn’t answer but shook her head no. Her nose rubbed into a damp spot of his shirt.

“I wouldn’t… with him,” she said between sobs. “He wanted… but I said no…”

Mamoru pulled away enough to look at her. She glanced up but couldn’t keep eye contact. His blue eyes were intense and angry. Of course, he would think something like this was foolish. 

He gently used his thumb and knuckle to turn her chin up to him. His gaze softened as he searched her face. She would have flushed if she wasn’t already so pink from crying.

“Are you telling me that asshole dumped you because you wouldn’t have sex with him?”

She looked away from him again. She rubbed the back of her hand against her nose, appalled by just how mucousy she was. She rubbed her hand on her skirt, then realized that his shirt was even more mucousy than her hand. Oh god. How embarrassing. She took her sleeve and tried to dry his shirt with it.

He stopped her, taking her hands in his.

“Odango…”

“We had plans to go to the Fussa Tanabata Matsuri. We were going to make wishes and eat all the yummy food,” she said, sniffling. It was hard to say this next part. “He found a love hotel, and I didn’t want to…”

“Usagi,” Mamoru said, very solemnly, “You should never feel bad about saying no to something like that. It’s a big deal, and you don’t have to take it lightly.”

She looked up at him, a little star struck. “But…”

“He’s an asshole, and you’re beautiful, and he’s just the first guy of many in your life,” Mamoru interrupted. “You’ll find the right one someday.”

“Did you just say I was beautiful?” she asked. She had heard him casually throw that in, right?

“For an Odango Atama.”

She rolled her eyes. “But, I was looking forward to going to the Tanabata.”

She heard him inhale sharply through his nose. “It‘s this Saturday, right?” he asked.

She nodded.

“How about I take you?” he said. “Then you can make a wish for a better boyfriend.”

“Are you serious? Why?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Why not? You had all these plans. It would be a shame to let them go to waste because of some dick.”

She stared at him for a moment. Was _Chiba Mamoru_ asking _her_ on a date?

“Come on, Odango, before Motoki finds us out here and thinks you’re crying because of me,” he said. He put his arm around her shoulder and slowly led her to the arcade entrance.

He kept his word. Though she wasn’t sure it was a date. He did wear his hideous green jacket. (Surely no one would intentionally wear that on a date.) They met at the station on Saturday morning and rode together in an oddly companionable silence. Mamoru had brought a book (because of course he did), and Usagi played on her phone. The train became more and more crowded as they drew nearer and nearer to Fussa. 

With space running out, she shifted and shifted, trying to get comfortable while being pushed into Mamoru’s shoulder. He sighed and looked at the ceiling. Then he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her closer, and she found she fit quite perfectly under his arm.

He didn’t really look at her the entire time, keeping his eyes on his novel. She kept stealing glances as she played through the various free plays of her many cell phone games.

They disembarked with the masses of others visiting for the festival. Upon leaving the station, they were greeted with colorful banners and smells of street vendors. Usagi’s eyes sparkled with excitement and anticipation.

“What should we do first?” she nearly squealed.

The day proceeded like a movie montage. There was food, parades, food, shopping, food, dancing, food, and at some point, Usagi even convinced Mamoru to rent kimonos for them to wander the streets in. She did have to promise that she would not spill any food so that he could get his deposit back.

When they made it to the Wishing Trees, Usagi spent a long time staring at her tanabata. A wish was not something to take lightly, especially during the Tanabata Matsuri. So she had to make it count. This was her chance to wish for Keito back or to wish for someone better. It was her chance to wish for better grades or to win Natsume Yuujinchou Shi lotto. She tapped her pen against her lips and watched as Mamoru carefully hung his tanabata well over Usagi’s head.

“But I can’t read it,” she lamented.

“Well, you shouldn’t be so short,” he answered.

She scowled and knew what to write. She wished for Mamoru to find his heart’s desire. Mamoru was so secretive and so isolated. He was hard-working, and surprisingly compassionate. After all, he’d taken her to the festival. She’d find someone new eventually, and school was nearly over, and she was feeling lucky about the lotto. She made sure to tie her tanabata in with a bunch of others so he wouldn’t know which one was hers. Feeling satisfied, she rejoined him.

“So what did you wish for, Odango?”

“Not telling,” she answered. “Besides, it won’t come true then.”

He didn’t seem satisfied with this answer, but before he could press, Usagi pointed to a yakitori stand. “Ooo! I’m so hungry!”

It worked, and he rolled his eyes while walking her to the booth.

As the day dwindled, she begged him to stay for the fireworks. She knew it was getting late, and there was still the hour train ride home, but she didn’t want this to end.

They found a grassy spot to watch the fireworks. Several families were spread out over blankets. Couples held hands and talked secretively. Usagi found a space for them and sat on the ground. Mamoru hesitated. She patted the ground beside her.

“We’ve already returned the kimonos,” she drawled. “You don’t have to worry about your deposit anymore.”

“Have you ever tried to get grass stains out of clothes, Odango?”

“No, but come on! It’s fireworks! A few little stains will be worth it. Plus, you won’t even notice them on that hideous green jacket,” she retorted.

He grumbled, and she grabbed his hand and tugged him down beside her.

“What’s your favorite firework?” she asked, scooting closer to him. Pressing into his side. He placed his hand behind her to allow for more room.

“I never really thought about it,” he answered.

She gasped. “How could you not! Mine’s the white glittery ones. It makes me think of magic.”

She continued to babble, and as she did, she noticed that he wasn’t really looking towards the sky or the setting sun. He was just watching her with this strange smile on his face.

“What? Do I have teriyaki sauce on my chin or something?” she asked.

He shook his head and closed his eyes.

“You’re such an Odango Atama,” he answered. Then he leaned in, slowly closing the gap between them. She kept perfectly still, hoping. When his lips brushed hers, she didn’t even hear the fireworks starting.

It was the most gentle kiss she’d ever experienced in her seventeen years of life. (And honestly, she’d been chasing down that feeling ever since.) His lips were warm and soft. They pressed gently and lovingly against hers. She’s the one who returned it with passion. And he followed her lead, letting her guide his lips open. Letting her touch her tongue to his. The kiss lingered, soft and gentle until she ran out of breath and had to pull away.

It wasn’t much space between them, but she could feel his own shallow breathing against her lips.

“The fireworks started,” he whispered.

“Uh-huh,” she answered and kissed him again.

***  
“So wait,” Rei interrupted. “Let me get this straight. You two made out under fireworks after what I could only describe as a Hallmark movie date, then he didn’t speak to you for six years?”

Usagi sighed and sat on the bed. “I found out later he was moving to America for medical school, and his flight left the next day.”

Rei sat quietly for a moment. “I guess that makes sense. It was probably easier to not talk to you since he was going to be abroad for the next several years.”

“Yeah,” she said. “That’s what I told myself. Also, I was seventeen. Like, what did I really know about love anyway?”

“But you’re not seventeen anymore,” Rei said. “So do you really want this or is this some unresolved adolescent crush?”

Usagi stared at herself in the mirror. Was this all about some teenage crush? Unresolved feelings from her youth?

“I want this,” she answered, and there was more truth in it than she expected. “And I think he does too.”

“Well, if nothing else, at least one of us is getting laid.”

“Rei!” Luna gasped.

Usagi burst out laughing.

“What? I mean, we might die any day. I don’t think celibacy is a priority,” Rei commented. “I could use a booty call too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all you lovely people out there reading and reviewing! It really makes my day. This chapter actually started as a bonus chapter, but kinda spiraled out of control and into two chapters. And as always, a very special thanks to my hubby, even though I agree there are far too many characters whose names begin with M and end in vowels.


	9. A Date to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since reconnecting, Usagi and Mamoru have their first date. It does not go as expected...

Mamoru double checked the address in her text message. Yeah, it was the same apartment number. He ran his hand through his hair.

He knocked again. Then called. No answer. His hand tapped against his thigh as he counted seconds. All he could think about were the victims of the sleeping sickness. People sitting in their room while something drained their energy to the point of death. It was why what he did next seemed totally sensible to him.

He kicked in the door.

Her apartment was dark and ransacked. Adrenaline coursed through his system, and he resisted the impulse to transform into Tuxedo Kamen. He didn’t even think about his shoes as he rushed onto the tatami floor. He found her quickly. She was lying on her bed, the TV casting a blue glow over her. One hand rested clenched above her head which was tilted gently to the side. Wearing a red dress that had slipped up a little higher than decent, she looked like sleeping beauty.

“Usagi!” he called. He didn’t even wait the second for her to respond. He grabbed her shoulders to jostle her awake.

And as soon as he did, her eyes flew open.

“Mamo…” she started, then he was hugging her. Tightly.

“Oh thank god,” he said. “You’re all right.”

“Um, yeah… what are you…” she started, groggily, then pushed back. “Wait. What time is it?”

“7:10.”

“Shit!” She stood up and turned on the light. “I fell asleep!”

Then Mamoru laughed, hard. He fell back on her bed.

“Asleep. Of course, you were asleep,” he said between peals of laughter.

“What does that mean?” she asked. She walked into the kitchen hall. “And why is my door broken?”

“I thought you were in danger,” he said.

“Why would you think that?”

“Because you didn’t answer your door,” he said. “Or phone.”

“Fuck,” she rushed back into the bedroom. He watched as she jumped on the bed, skirt riding up. She produced her phone from under her pillow.

The screen had several missed call. She groaned.

“I didn’t hear it because it was under the pillow,” she whined.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him. Following his lead, she straddled him. Smirking, he pulled her in for a kiss. He cupped her face as the kissing intensified. He moaned and felt himself grow distracted.

“If we don’t stop,” she said between kisses, “We’ll be late for dinner.”

“I expected that, so I lied about the reservation time,” he answered. Then slid his hands under her skirt and up her thighs.

She pushed off him. “Seriously Mamoru?”

“Well, you aren’t exactly known for your promptness,” he answered.

“I’m not fourteen anymore,” she continued. “And I’ll have you know, I was ready early.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s why I fell asleep.”

He shook his head then stood up from the bed.

“Come on, Odango, let’s get going,” he said, taking her hand and walking to the door.

“But, what about my door? It won’t shut!” she argued.

“Maybe you can convince the police you were robbed. It’ll be fine,” he continued.

“Why did you kick the door in any way? It was unlocked!”

***  
Usagi had been on dates before. She’d been taken to dinner (often a poor choice as she always ate far more than her date intended to pay). Yet, she’d never been to a _fancy_ dinner. This was a place adults with respectable careers went. Usagi was a questionable adult with a questionably respectable career.

The host brought them to the table and pulled out Usagi’s chair. The champagne was already chilling at the table, which the host poured. He bowed and left.

Usagi scanned the menu apprehensively. This was not the food she was used to. There were words she sort of understood, but, had this feeling it involved parts of animals she’d never eaten before. Then there were no prices. These were signs of someplace way too fancy for her.

Mamoru filled her champagne glass for the third time. She drank it like a shot.

“Do you know what you want?” Mamoru asked.

She chewed her lip. Did she admit she wasn’t sure what half the items on the menu were? Or did she try to order and hope for the best?

Mamoru watched her suspiciously. “You have no clue what to order do you?”

Usagi blanched, then scowled. “Of course I do. It’s just difficult to choose only one thing.”

Mamoru took a sip of his champagne. “Then let’s order a course selection.”

“Aren’t those expensive?” Usagi asked.

Mamoru shook his head. “Don’t worry about it Odango,” he said. She scowled harder.

“Ugh, I hate that name,” she said, slapping her menu closed.

Mamoru’s demeanor shifted. He reached across the table to take her hand. She pulled it away.

“Does it really bother you that much?” he asked, genuinely confused.

“Yes!” she exclaimed.

He pulled his hand back, looking a little like a scolded puppy. “I’m sorry. I thought it was cute.”

“You think calling me Odango is cute?”

“Translated, it means dumpling in English, which is a term of endearment,” he retorted.

“So, are you trying to tell me that you were giving me a pet name all those years?” she asked.

He shrugged, turning vaguely pink.

“But that’s like me calling you something infantile, like Mamo-chan or something.”

“I think Mamo-chan is cute,” he countered.

“Of course you do,” she said back with a smile. She sighed. “But I still don’t like Odango.”

“Okay, okay,” he went on. “I’ll come up with something better.”

Thankfully, Mamoru signaled the waiter, and he placed the order. Usagi filled his glass with the last of the champagne, so he added a bottle of sake. The waiter collected their menus then bowed, and the two were alone again.

“How about mochi?”

“I thought we ordered dinner?” Usagi asked.

“No, as a pet name,” he said, sipping on the champagne.

She rolled her eyes, then snarked, “Because the rabbit of the moon pounds mochi?”

“Or maybe because I want to pound you?” he whispered with a smirk. She flushed bright pink.

“No.”

He laughed. “Wagashi?”

“Ugh, how about something not food related?”

Sake and the first course arrived. Usagi stared at the soup in front of her. Floating in the clay bowl was a turtle shell. She poked at it with her soup spoon.

“What’s wrong?” Mamoru asked.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Something is clearly wrong. You’re not eating.”

Damnit. He knew her too well. She glared at him, then deliberately, dipped her spoon in the soup. Bringing the spoon up to her lips, she mimicked a toast, then took a sip. It was surprisingly good. But still distressing.

Mamoru chuckled. “It’s Suppon Turtle soup, Usa,” he said.

Usagi quirked her eyebrow. “Wait, isn’t that supposed to be for male impotency?”

Mamoru smiled and took another spoonful. “I don’t think I have a problem with that, wouldn’t you say?”

“The turtle soup suggests otherwise.” She grinned as she slurped her soup.

Mamoru flushed. Score one for Usagi.

Her spoon hit the shell, and she felt uneasy. “I don’t know about this,” she admitted.

“You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to,” Mamoru said.

“Did you just hear the words coming out of your mouth? Me, not eat?”

Mamoru signaled the waiter, who came and took their dishes. Shaking his head, he refilled her Sake.

“Is this a place you really like to eat?” Usagi asked, sipping her sake.

Mamoru tugged on his collar. “Not really,” he answered.

“Then why are we here?”

“Honestly?” His eyes shined as he looked at her, so very vulnerable. “I was trying to impress you.”

Usagi preened. “You thought floating dead turtle soup was how to impress a lady?

“I have a lot of ground to make up for.”

Usagi tapped her Sake cup to his. “That you do,” she said with a sip. “Why were you so mean to me all those years ago?”

Mamoru took a moment to think about his words. “Would young and stupid count?”

“Nope.”

He sighed. “You were the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. I was always tongue-tied around you,” he continued.

“That counts a little.”

“Then, I found out you were… way too young for me. I mean, what does a first-year college student have in common with a middle school girl? So, I tried to push you away,” he said.

“Four years isn’t such a big age gap.”

“It isn’t anymore.”

He smiled at her, something hidden and beautiful, like cracking open a geode. The waiter interrupted the moment as he placed the new course in front of them. A long thin plate had a squid, body finely sliced, but still very clearly a squid. A small saucer of vinegar accompanied it.

“My dinner is staring at me,” Usagi said. “I don’t think I can eat something that still has a face.”

“Do you want to get out of here?” Mamoru asked.

Usagi had never felt more relieved in her life. “Yes,” she answered.

He nodded and signaled the waiter.

***  
Mamoru wrapped his arm around Usagi as they walked out of the restaurant onto the cool Tokyo street.

“Next time, I know of a fantastic ramen shop,” Usagi said.

Mamoru kissed the top of her head. “I promise not to pick a restaurant without your approval in the future.”

“Good, because I’m a walking Yelp review of cheap and tasty in Minato,” she said.

“How about something sweet?” he said. “There’s a cafe just down the street.”

“Oh yes. I am so hungry,” she answered. Mamoru chuckled.

“Come on then,” he answered, and they walked a block down to the little cafe.

The place was surprisingly busy, but they found a little two-person table by the window. Mamoru ordered a coffee, and Usagi ordered a hot chocolate plus one of everything on the dessert menu.

“I said I was hungry,” she said.

They waited at their table, trading in small talk. Then, the emergency tone wailed from nearly every phone in the room. All conversations halted as everyone checked their phone. Youma alert. Last seen a block before the restaurant they’d just left. 

Usagi chewed her lip and took a screenshot. She sent the picture to Rei with a message: _Help! Please don’t tell Minako!_

There was a scrape of chairs and a hush of footfalls as people exited the cafe. Usagi looked up to see a drastic reduction in population as patrons left to seek better shelter. She clutched her phone to her chest.

“Do you want to leave?” he asked. 

“Not without my desserts,” she answered. “Besides, we’re probably safer here than out there.”

A waiter brought out small plates of desserts, dancing around the exodus of customers. Usagi beamed at Mamoru, her stomach churning. Shouldn’t she be leaving? She should be out there - helping people, fighting youma. But, how could she excuse herself? How could she slip away to transform without Mamoru noticing?

She took a small bite of brownie and watched him. He held his coffee halfway to his face, looking out the window pensively. The hairs on her arm stood up. She checked her phone and saw a response from Rei: _OMW. Why can’t you handle it? Still out with Booty Call?_ She glanced at Mamoru, then out the window. The silence was heavy. They were waiting.

Usagi saw the girl first. She was small, maybe seven years old, and holding the largest cat Usagi had ever seen. Youma rounded the corner, and she realized who the monster’s target was.

She didn’t think. Didn’t even realize she’d dropped her spoon and knocked her dessert to the floor. Didn’t hear Mamoru screaming her name. She ran. Out the door and into the street, she grabbed the little girl. The youma’s claws scratched at the air where the child was.

Usagi hit the pavement, cradling the child. The cat fell from the girl’s arms and scampered off towards an ally.

“Rhett!” the girl screamed. “Let me go! I have to save Rhett!”

The child squirmed in Usagi’s hands, but she did not let go. The youma turned its attention to her, snarling. Sharp teeth, long claws, angry red skin. It pointed one long finger at Usagi. She gripped the girl’s arm, put moved the girl behind her. She would protect this child. 

“Foolish human,” it said. “You will not keep me from my prey.”

The child whimpered. Usagi jutted her chin.

“Watch me.”

A rose slammed into the youma’s temple. It howled and stumbled before crashing into a nearby window. The window of the cafe Usagi had just left.

“No!” she screamed.

She jolted forward. A cape blurred her vision as Tuxedo Kamen appeared between her and the youma.

“Get the girl somewhere safe, now,” he commanded.

Damnit. She looked at the cafe and the youma climbing back through the broken window. Mamoru was tough. He had to be fine. She took the little girl’s hand and started to move away from the scene. The child resisted.

“But Rhett!” she cried. “I won’t go anywhere without Rhett!”

Usagi knelt in front of the girl, placing her hands on the girl’s shoulder. “I’ll come back for Rhett if you promise to get somewhere safe,” she said. Usagi held the child’s gaze, doing her best to both reassure and impart the gravity of the situation.

The child nodded, and Usagi took her hand. Down the street, she could see where the police were forming a blockade. Behind her, she could the battle unfolding. Her stomach twisted in knots. An officer blew his whistle and gestured with his hand for them to keep coming. Usagi let go of the girl’s hand and watched as she ran into the officer’s arms. Then, she turned and headed back toward the battle.

Tuxedo Kamen was fighting with a passion she hadn’t seen before. He was quick, experienced. He parried and dodged, keeping just out of the youma’s reach. Could everyone fight up but her?

Speaking of fighting, where the hell was Mars? Usagi fingered her brooch. Was there even some place for her to transform? Would she be able to help?

Tuxedo Kamen took a hit, crashing into some trash cans. From the cans, Usagi saw the cat scurry out.

“Kitty!” Usagi cried.

For being phenomenally fat, the cat was surprisingly fast. He bolted over Usagi’s feet and into the cafe. Well, that was convenient. She glanced at the battle, tilted her head as she weighed what to do, then chased after the cat. Tuxedo Kamen had this right?

Usagi didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she exhaled. Her desserts were scattered on the floor, and her purse had been thrown several feet away, but there was no Mamoru. No blood. No sign that anyone was hurt other than the pastries. He was safe. She looked at the rest of the cafe and saw three heads poking out over the deli counter.

“Did you see what happened to the guy I was with?” she called out.

“He followed you,” one of the people answered.

She looked at the door. Tuxedo Kamen was struggling. He needed help. She looked back at the three people still in the cafe.

“Is it over?” one of them asked.

Usagi chewed her lip. “Not yet,” she answered. Rei was sure taking her sweet time.

“But we need help,” another said. Usagi looked back over. There was a man, holding his arm. It was wrapped in a towel. The two employees stood beside him.

Usagi closed her eyes. Goddamnit.

“Okay, follow my lead,” she said and waved them over. They stood there.

“Really?” she asked. “There’s a police barricade just down the road!”

“I’m not going out there,” said the man with the injured arm. “There are monsters.”

Usagi threw her hands up in the air. “Fine, be that way,” she grumbled. She still needed to get this cat, then get back and help them. She knelt on the ground, looking under tables.

“Here, kitty, kitty, kitty,” she called.

The cat, Rhett, just stared at her from beneath a booth.

“Damnit,” she grumbled, “I don’t have time for this.”

On her hands and knees, she crawled over to the feline. Bits of glass bit into her knees and palms, but she didn’t care. The cat cowered further under the table. That would not do. Channeling the best new superhero reflexes, Usagi reached an arm out and grabbed the cat. Rhett was heavier than Usagi expected. What was this cat made of? Lead? But she had him, and she used all her might to pull him to her. Wrapping her arms around the animal that had to weigh at least fifteen kilos, Usagi stood up.

She glanced back at the trio cowering behind the deli counter.

“I’ll send help,” she said, then walked out the door.

Out on the street, she didn’t even have time to look at her surroundings before the youma beside her appeared.

“Where do you think you’re going?” it growled.

“Shit,” she said. Usagi squeezed the cat and braced for impact.

“Evil Spirits! Be Exorcised!”

The youma froze, claws millimeters from Usagi’s face when an ofuda scroll slapped against its chest.

“Fire soul!”

A torrent of flames streamed towards the monster. Heat blasted Usagi, and she struggled to keep the panicked cat in her arms. Heels clicked beside Usagi. Sailor Mars flipped her hair over her shoulder as she looked Usagi and the giant cat over. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Please don’t tell me you got blood and rubble on my dress,” she said. Usagi smiled weakly, then looked at her knees.

“Probably not?”

Mars focused instead on the youma, flames sprouting to her hands. Before she could attack again, Tuxedo Kamen’s sword sliced through the youma’s neck from behind. It crumbled to dust before its detached head hit the pavement.

Mars’s flames intensified as she stared at Tuxedo Kamen. He sighed then said, “Thanks for the distraction, Sailor Mars.”

“I could have handled him on my own,” she said.

His shoulders hung, and he shook his head. He looked at Usagi for just a moment, then said, “Get her to safety,” before springing away and out of sight.

Usagi watched him go, small butterflies in her stomach. Man, that guy had great timing…

“Where’s your boy toy?” Mars asked. Then frowned. “Is he okay?” 

Usagi shrugged. “Hopefully? He wasn’t at the cafe when I went back,” she answered.

“Do I even want to know how you two split up?” Mars asked.

“I ran out the door to protect a little girl,” Usagi said. “It was all very noble.”

“I’m sure,” Mars grumbled, “but you could have protected her better as Sailor Moon.”

Usagi sighed and rubbed her face in the cat’s back. If she had waited, would the girl be alive? Would that man in the cafe need medical attention? Would Rei’s dress have been okay?

“There are people in the cafe who need help,” Usagi mumbled.

Mars closed her eyes, trying to think of the right thing to say. “Head to the barricade. Boyfriend is probably there. I’ll take care of those guys, and we’ll catch up tomorrow, okay?” Mars asked.

Usagi nodded and watched the Senshi head into the cafe. She started towards safety, snuggling the very large cat. Paramedics rushed past the barriers. A little girl squeezed through as well.

“Rhett!” she cried.

Usagi was helpless to stop the cat. Seeing his human, he put all his 15 kilos of power into escaping Usagi’s grip. She didn’t put up much resistance and smiled as the reunion unfolded.

“Usako!”

She almost didn’t hear the name, but she recognized the voice. Mamoru pushed past the paramedics and swept her up in a tight embrace.

“Never do something so reckless again,” he whispered in her ear.

“Usako?” Usagi said as he set her back on her feet.

His face flushed.

“Much better than Odango Atama,” she said and took his hand in hers. Together, the walked away from the blinking lights and chaos of the attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to do a special thanks to my regular reviewer, mali86. Thanks so much for all your comments. The light up my day whenever I see one.
> 
> A special thanks to Chelsea for beta-reading this chapter. I finally could cut something!! My Prince Ferdinado, thanks for being an alpha and helping with my story bible. And as always, a super special thanks to my hubby, who is the best alpha reader a writer could ask for.


	10. Outnumbered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls investigate the source of the purple flower and discover more than they can handle.

Usagi hung upside down off Rei’s futon, her head resting on the ground. To her, it provided a unique perspective on the discussion at hand. 

The news reported something dubbed “The Mysterious Sleeping Sickness” which affected a large number of concertgoers from the night of Naru’s birthday. Symptoms were similar to those caught in a youma attack, however, no attack had been reported. Speculation was on some form of contaminated alcohol. Two deaths had been attributed to the strange condition: one the teen Mamoru and Ami had treated and the other a woman found in her apartment. Seven other cases had resulted in hospitalization. However, Usagi could confirm that there had been way more than nine people at the club that night.

The purple flower they’d taken from Naru’s was sitting on a counter under a plastic Tupperware container. Inert, pretty, and oh so dangerous.

“If people aren’t dying,” Usagi said, “Then the flowers must be designed to milk people’s energy, kinda like cows.”

“That’s a base example,” Rei quipped.

“But not incorrect,” Luna said. “From the tests I have done, it appears that the flowers act more like batteries. They take a charge from the host to be passed on at a later time.”

“Well, if that’s the case,” Minako added, “then, someone must collect the flowers. We need to investigate more.”

“I think a good place to start would be the club that hosted the concert. At least then we could rule out if it’s the Dark Pandora band, or the establishment itself,” Luna said.

“Ooo, does that mean going to a club is official Senshi business? Sign me up!” Usagi said.

“Okay then, that settles it,” Minako said. “We’ll go tonight. Scope the place out. See if we can find any more clues about Midnight Zero and the Dark Kingdom flowers.”

“Tonight?” Usagi whined. “But I have a date.”

“Oh? Is this Mr. I haven’t been home in several nights but am not telling anyone about?” Rei said.

Usagi stuck her tongue out at Rei, then rolled face first off the futon. Rei found this insanely entertaining and laughed her head off.

Minako quietly stared at Usagi. 

“You have a boyfriend?” she asked.

Usagi blushed. “Well, we haven’t put a label on it...” 

“She has a booty call,” Rei contributed with a wicked grin.

“He’s not a booty call!” Usagi yelled. “He’s… complicated!”

Minako looked away. “Usagi,” she began. “I just want you to know that being a Sailor Senshi must always come first. And that can make having relationships hard. And as your leader, I just want you to know that.”

Usagi sighed. “Is that code for cancel my date and report to Senshi duty?”

Minako didn’t respond but stared meaningfully at her.

“I think Minako has a point. Frivolous affairs are just a distraction,” Luna added.

“It’s not frivolous,” Usagi added softly. “At least I hope not.”

“Well, either way, you need to text him and tell him you have big girl things to do and have to keep your knickers on!”

“Rei!! You’re so mean!”

***

The girls walked cautiously up to the club. It looked nondescript and deserted. Passers-by would only see their reflection in the tinted windows. No hint of what might be unfolding inside nor any trace of a Dark presence. It was just like the House of Fortune, but this time, Usagi wasn't going in unprepared. Nervousness weighed in the pit of her stomach like an anchor. The sun hadn’t even set yet, so they were very early (which, admittedly, was part of her clever plan to finish investigating in time to meet up with Mamoru afterward) She reasoned that the timing contributed to the emptiness. More likely, it made them stand out like tourists.

Usagi wore a little pink dress with sequin embellishments. Rei was in the red dress Usagi had borrowed the day before, and Minako wore something designer and orange, which surprised Usagi. Then again, most of what Usagi had seen Minako in were workout clothes. Overall, they were a very desirable group for a club.

There was no doorman at the entrance.

Rei felt pinpricks on her skin. Something evil was nearby; something she’d felt before. She touched Minako’s wrist and met her eyes. They shared a silent conversation, a skill they’d forged over months of battle together. Usagi stared at the door. 

“Usagi,” Minako said. “Keep your wits.”

Usagi, being the least battle forged, quirked her eyebrow and said, “Okay?”

The three girls walked in.

Inside was empty save for the staff. A couple of girls in the club’s uniform cleaned tables, eyes locking on to the trio as they walked in. Even without psychic powers, Usagi knew something was wrong. The waitresses moved with eerie synchrony. Four eyes followed them like a haunted painting. Four hands wipe, wipe, wiped instep.

The doorman, a man with long auburn hair, leaned over the bar. He was in a deep discussion with the bartender. This was not the bartender that served her the other night, but Usagi did recognize the man. She’d run into him outside the House of Fortune. The hairs on her arms stood up. Luna wasn’t nearby to keep an eye out for her.

Steeling herself with the most charming smile she could muster, Usagi marched up to the bar. She dramatically slid onto the barstool, arms stretching over the counter. Minako and Rei exchanged glances before following Usagi.

“Ugh,” Usagi started. “I really need a shot of tequila and to just dance it out.”

The bartender and the doorman glanced at each other. Then the bartender grabbed a shot glass and poured her drink.

“And your friends?” he asked as he slid the glass towards Usagi. The girls sat on each side of Usagi, looking far too tense. “What will they have?”

She took the shot as if her skin weren’t crawling, as if she weren’t terrified of these two men. “They're lightweights, so, highballs for them,” she answered.

The bartender retrieved two cans of Suntory Kaku from beneath the bar. He popped them open and poured them into glasses over ice.

“Weren’t you here the other night?” the doorman asked. “Your hairstyle is… unique.”

“I was! Had such a good time, wanted to bring my other friends here,” she said. “Like, I know it’s not going to be Dark Pandora, but still, should be a good time, right?”

The bartender and doorman shared another look. Their silent conversation casting a sinister air.

“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” the doorman said, and. Usagi held eye contact with him. 

Her nerve impressed Rei, who’d noticed the waitresses were inching closer to them. Rei had never taken on so many opponents before. It felt that one youma was often more than enough for them. But four enemies? It was the first time she hoped Tuxedo Mask would find them. At least, when it came to youma, he would fight with them.

Usagi wanted to glance at Rei or Minako for support, but if she did the bartender would see her fear. Either way, she wasn’t going to lose this staring contest. He was studying her much too closely now...

“About those highballs?” Minako interrupted. The doorman’s eyes flew to her. Minako’s voice was three octaves higher than either girl was used to. She was not going to be out-acted by Usagi. That girl may not have been the best warrior among them, but the Usagi did have some balls on her. Minako was going to follow her lead. 

The bartender blinked, then his gaze slid it back to Minako with her drink. She took a dainty sip.

“Mmm,” she cooed. “This is so good! What about you Usa? Are you going to have another round?”

“Yes!” Usagi said. “I’ll have another. Maybe something I can sip on.” She winked at the bartender.

Minako turned back to the doorman. “So, like, when does the party get started here? I know we’re early, but we were just so excited!”

Usagi was impressed at how well Minako could sell the ditzy party girl. Usagi was a ditzy party girl, and even she didn’t quite sell it as well as that, especially not when there was an oppressive air of evil in the place. Now, if only Rei could drop the protective Mama Bear look.

The bartender answered very stoically, “It depends. While you’re waiting, why don’t you have one of these?”

He reached below the bar and produced three familiar purple flowers. Smiling, he set one down in front of each girl. 

Usagi didn’t want to touch it.

“Ooo, help me put it in my hair?” Rei asked, grabbing Usagi’s arm. Usagi reached for the flower, but then Rei added, “Maybe we should do it in front of the mirror?”

Usagi’s eyes widened with understanding recognition. The bathroom. An excellent call. They could slip away and transform.

“But I just finished your Tequila Sunrise,” the bartender said as he placed a drink in front of Usagi. She stared at the glass. Did he drug it? Was it poisoned? She’d never been more reluctant to have a drink before.

“Usa, you wait here,” Minako said. “I’ll go, and we’ll be right back!” Minako winked some code that Usagi did not understand. Why would they abandon her?

She did her best not to groan as the other two women left. She smiled at the bartender, who was entirely too focused on her. The waitresses inched in; the tables they were wiping were already sparkling.

So, Usagi did the only thing she could think to do in her nervousness. She downed her drink.

“Didn’t you want something to sip on?” the bartender asked, though it sounded more like a statement. He was leaning on the counter, staring at her. “You aren’t nervous or something are you?”

“Oh, well,” Usagi gulped. She attempted to flirt by averting her eyes and running her fingertip along the glass rim. “It was just too smooth. What did you say your name was?”

“You can call me Jadeite,” he answered. “Here, let me help you with your flower.” He plucked the flower off the bar and leaned over to pin it to Usagi. She blinked frantically as he encroached on her space.

“Is something wrong?” Jadeite asked, his voice smooth but icy like Hibiki on the rocks. A shadow crossed his face as if his darkness were bleeding from his pores. He smirked cruelly.

His fingertips brushed Usagi’s dress. She gulped, tensing. Afraid that if she flinched, their cover would be blown.

“Evil Spirits be exorcized!”

An ofuda scroll slapped Jadeite in the middle of his forehead. He froze prone across the bar with the flower in his fingers, his bartender outfit dissolving into a grey uniform. Just centimeters away from Usagi. She pushed back, startled.

“Did you really think you’d get away with it, Jadeite?” Sailor Venus called out.

Looking over her shoulder, Usagi tumbled from her stool to the floor. Thankfully, Minako stood behind her, transformed and flanked by Sailor Mars. Fire crackled in the hands of the Senshi of Fite Me IRL.

A deep laugh came from the doorman as he strolled towards the entrance. He seemed almost… entertained. “Sailor Senshi,” he continued. “Did you forget he wasn’t alone?” The doorman’s black clothes melted into a similar grey uniform as he locked the door. He took his time, making sure all the locks clicked loudly before turning around.

“And who are you?” Mars called out.

“My name is Nephrite. And while you may be used to battling one Dark Kingdom General, do not underestimate two,” the former doorman said.

The two waitresses began to distort - their features sank in, and their skin turned unnatural colors. Hands turned into claws. Teeth sharpened.

Well, fuck. And there Usagi was, lying on her back on a dingy barroom floor.

“Some help here Nephrite,” Jadeite grumbled through gritted teeth. Jadeite was still hunched over the bar, reaching to pin a flower onto nothing. The two Senshi kept their eyes on Nephrite as he walked over to Jadeite. Usagi, on the other hand, couldn’t really see well, but she did notice the youma sneaking up on Venus.

“Look out!” Usagi cried.

Spell broken, Venus gained her wits in just enough time to launch the youma over her shoulder (a move she’d attempted to teach Usagi). Usagi noted that it was quite effective, and she should probably try harder during training.

Mars held her hand together like a gun then cried, “Mars Fire Soul!” at the second youma.

With the Senshi distracted, Nephrite removed the ofuda scroll from Jadeite’s forehead. 

“Took long enough,” Jadeite said, stumbling as his suspension was released. Then, he jumped over the bar, barely missing Usagi. She meeped and rolled out of the way.

“I’ve been waiting for a chance to take a shot at you Sailor Brats,” Jadeite taunted, heading toward the melee. 

A piece of the bar near Usagi’s head splintered. She yelped. It appeared that everyone had forgotten about the bun-headed girl. She could use that to her advantage. Crawling behind the bar, she whispered her henshin and hoped that the battle would distract the bad guys from her transformation’s light show.

Now, as Sailor Moon, she took a moment to think. She had a tactical advantage. (Wouldn’t the others be happy she used that phrase?) Not only did these jerks not know there was a third Sailor Senshi, but they didn’t know she was hiding behind the bar. But, she only had one shot, and she needed to use it wisely.

Sailor Moon peered over the bar, her red jeweled buns peeking over. Mars was head to head with Jadeite, fire and ice duking it out. The fire was waning. Nephrite was toying with Venus, laughing at her as she struggled with the two lesser youma. Venus had one youma wrapped in a whip, which she tried to yo-yo into the other youma. Nephrite faded in and out, making Venus adjust her momentum last minute and weakening her attack.

Also, Venus had a whip? That was badass. But, Sailor Moon wasn’t going to add much to this battle. She wasn’t strong like the others. She was inexperienced, and her best move only helped people regain energy. Not what they needed right now. So she needed to be strategic. She dropped behind the bar.

Why couldn’t masked men in tuxedos show up now?

Closing her eyes, she pictured Luna. What would Luna say? Luna would say rushing into battle would be headstrong, and people could die. She pictured Naru and Motoki, zombie-like with a black flower draining their energy; she thought of Ami’s heartbroken face as the doctor talked about the dead teenager. Usagi knew what to do.

She took her time, positioning herself to the best advantage. Keeping track of every move the others made (and the fine selection of open liquor bottles), she made sure her next action would count. She pulled out the Hibiki bottle from under the bar and took a swig--. there was no knocking liquid courage. Nodding to herself, she climbed up on the bar and posed. 

No one was paying her any attention. Mars and Jadeite were circling each other in front of her like a cat and mouse, though Usagi wasn’t sure which was which. Minako was farther back and slightly to the left, flanked by the two lesser youma. One of the youma was still wrapped in Venus’s whip, which she repositioned with every movement, keeping the other youma from getting behind her. Nephrite watched, amused, and occasionally shot dark energy at Venus’s blind spots.

She touched her tiara, centering herself and her magic. Then she took it off and flung it as she called out, “Moon Tiara Action!” It sliced the trapped youma in half (and the arm of the other one off) before cutting between Mars and Jadeite and returning to her. Now, she had everyone’s attention.

“Who the fuck are you?” Nephrite demanded.

“I am the Senshi of Love and Justice: Sailor Moon! And on behalf of the moon, let’s get the fuck out of here!” She said. Then she tossed her tiara at the door, cutting right through the locks. “Let’s go girls!”

The Senshi hesitated, eyes darting between her and their adversaries.

Moon jumped off the bar and started towards the door before noticing that no one was following her. 

“For real?” She groaned.

Jadeite took the opportunity and teleported. Before Moon could react, he appeared behind her and wrapped his arm around her neck. She clawed at his arm, but her gloves thwarted her nails, rendering her attack useless.

“Well, well, looks like you have a new recruit,” Jadeite said. “And she’s not as well trained. I would never be able to get the drop on one of you two.”

Moon flailed, kicking her legs and struggling with her whole body. His grip around her neck tightened, and she panicked. This was not the plan! The plan was to run away! They weren’t ready for this!

In her panic, Moon did the only thing she could think of: she screamed for her life.

The red jewels in her buns started to glow, and her scream became louder and louder. Venus and Mars felt their earrings grow warm as yellow and red bands of light wrapped around their heads, covering their ears.

Jadeite released Moon, clapping his hands over his ears. She didn’t notice and proceeded to scream even louder. The glassware on the bar was the first to go. Glasses and booze bottles exploded, and the acrid smell of alcohol filled the air. 

The mirrored windows went next, bursting out into the street, startling pedestrians.

Venus chewed her lip. This wasn’t how she wanted this to end. People would start filming soon, putting themselves in danger of collateral damage, and Moon wasn't well equipped for combat. Hell, she wasn’t even sure if she and Mars could've taken two Generals at once. On the other hand, she shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. If nothing else, Usagi’s total destruction of the bar would hinder this evil plot for a while.

She signaled to Mars, and the two rushed towards the door. They scooped Moon up, one arm each, and booked it. Heels clicking on the pavement, they ran down the streets of Roppongi.

“You can stop screaming now,” Mars yelled loud enough to be heard. Moon abruptly stopped howling and looked up at her comrades. Then looked back at the bar as it vanished behind them. The generals were kneeling, still reeling from her attack, but they were watching. Usagi never felt so fearful and so grateful at once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, fun fact: the original draft of this fight scene was terrible. I knew I wanted the girls to confront Jadeite, but I had no clue how. So, I had a weird fan club meet up in an after-hours warehouse district, and it just made no sense whatsoever. (The bulk of the fight scene is “So, Jadeite and Nephrite fight the Sailor Senshi.”) It was…>.<; I’m going to post some snippets on my tumbler if you wanna see what 5 revisions can do to a piece. My husband actually gave me the inspiration for this moment’s current incarnation with an offhand note on chapter 6 “why isn’t she going back to investigate the bar?” And I was like, that’s a really good point. Why isn’t she investigating? And, it’s the perfect fix for the nightmare fight scene! So with a real reason why they run into Jadeite, an epic fight scene was born.
> 
> Thanks so much to Melissa and mali86 for commenting. It means so much to me.
> 
> SMOKING BOMBER is the best! Thank you so much for beat reading that fight scene. I totally credit her for “Senshi of Fite Me IRL.” Such brilliance.
> 
> A special thanks to my Prince for being my cheerleader and alpha reader, and as always, to the best Husband in the world. You’ve made this chapter readable.


	11. The Luxury Cruise Ship...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reeling from defeat, Usagi attempts to help the Senshi as best she knows how, with the power of friendship.

With a blur of heels clicking on pavement and adrenaline, they ran. They didn’t stop until they were at the train station. At some point, they slipped through an alley and let their transformations fall.

Usagi leaned against a wall, her arms wrapped around herself. Rei stood stiff, trying to control her breathing. Minako punched the wall.

“Damnit!” Minako screamed.

“We shouldn’t have run away,” Rei said, her eyes watering. 

Usagi looked between the two women, her mouth agape. Were they serious?

“We were outnumbered,” Usagi said.

“I could have taken him,” Rei said. “I had him…”

“You had him? Great, what about the three others? Were they going to stand around waiting so you could take them down one by one?” Usagi argued.

“If you had only been more trained, then maybe we could have been on more level ground,” Rei countered.

Usagi opened her mouth to argue, but she couldn’t. She wasn’t prepared. She _did_ need to train more. She _needed_ to be more. But she wasn’t going to admit that to Rei.

“If we die, then who will stop them?” she deliberated.

“We need to change priorities. We need to find the others,” Minako said.

“Others?” Usagi asked.

“Mercury and Jupiter,” Minako said. “The final two Sailor Senshi. We’re strongest together.”

Usagi chewed her lip. If the burden were shared, then she might not be so useless.

“I thought we were handling it on our own,” Rei grumbled.

“I know we were trying not to involve them, but I don’t see another choice,” Minako said. 

Usagi furrowed her brow. “Why wouldn’t we look for the others?”

“This isn’t exactly a great life,” Rei answered.

Usagi’s confusion grew. “But the sooner we stop the Dark Kingdom, then the sooner we can all get back to our lives,” she said.

“Don’t be naive, Usagi,” Minako said, running her hands through her bangs. “There is no going back to your life. This lifestyle… changes you.”

Usagi was pensive for a moment. True. She wasn’t the girl she was last week. But...

“But, that doesn’t have to mean we can’t ever have a life.”

“Not a life worth living,” Minako said. “A life without love, and family, and friendship.”

Minako wrapped her arms around herself and laughed bitterly.

“Who says we can’t have those things?” Usagi retorted. “If this last week has taught me anything is that life can take you unexpected places!”

“What happens if you and your new beau go further? What happens when you get pregnant?” Rei pointed out. “You can’t go out fighting monsters then. Then where there’s a baby, who will take care of it? And what if something were to happen to you? Do you want your kid growing up without a mother?”

“You’re right. I don’t know what will happen in that case. But what if we don’t die? I don’t know what happened to you two, but I still believe life goes on. That this doesn’t have to be our end all be all,” Usagi said. ‘I refuse to.”

Rei stared at her as if the thought that being a Sailor Senshi didn’t have to define every moment of her existence was ancient Greek.

“We don’t get to choose,” Minako started to say.

“I don’t understand what we’re choosing between! We don’t live in a bat cave, just waiting around. We still have to work to make money. We can still go after something that makes us happy, because if you just let this become everything, then how can we save people? How can we relate? What will give us something to live for?” Usagi said. “Look, I know I’m new to this, and yeah, it’s definitely different, but it’s not the end of our lives. We’re still alive. And maybe, if there are more of us, we can share this responsibility. And then we also wouldn’t be so alone.”

Rei gave her an oddly hopefully look. Minako looked away and said, “You still don’t understand.”

Usagi threw her hands up in the air. “You’re right. I don’t. And I’m going home,” she said and headed down the stairs to the train platform.

Rei and Minako stared at the empty stairway for a long time.

“She has a point,” Rei said. “We’re not strong enough alone. Tonight proved that.”

Rei didn’t look back as she headed down the stairs. Minako stood there a long time, waiting for the tears to stop so she could see straight enough to go home.

XXX

Usagi did not show up for training in the morning. She did not receive a text message from either Minako or Rei. Unfortunately, she still woke up early, but just lay beside a sleeping Mamoru.

He’d been excited about staying in the night before. He’d had his own long day. Neither of them discussed the details. Usagi did manage to convince him to watch six episodes of _My Hero Academia_ (in exchange for two episodes of his favorite import, _Game of Thrones_ ).

Mamoru offered to make breakfast but had to walk down to the 7/11 because Usagi had nothing to cook in her fridge. (Except a half-eaten bento box and a quarter of a bottle of Pocari Sweat.) After breakfast, he left for work.

She texted Motoki, hoping for a work-related distraction, but he had everything covered. The new claw machines were arriving, and she’d just be underfoot during the installation. Tomorrow he’d need her to help stock them. She was much better at setting them up than he was.

So, Usagi spent the morning thinking - about her life and her destiny. There were so many layers to Minako that Usagi didn’t understand, but she guessed years of being a Senshi must have been grueling. She’d already felt the pressure, and it’d only been a week.

The problem was, she hadn’t heard this from Minako herself. Outside of morning training and the regular reprimands, Minako didn’t say much at all. The two girls were basically strangers, yet they were supposed to function as a team.

As if a tiny cartoon lightbulb went off over her head, Usagi realized what she could do. The best contribution she could make to training was working on strengthening their friendship. _That_ was something _she_ was good at. She and Rei were getting there. They’d at least had some girl time. She needed to establish that connection with Minako.

So, Luna helped Usagi navigate to Minako’s home. It wasn’t too far from Usagi’s own apartment - only two subway stops over. (She supposed she could have walked it and called it training.)

“Are you sure this is the place?” Usagi whispered to Luna. No harm in checking right?

“It’s the place,” Luna said.

Usagi blinked and wondered what exactly Minako did outside of being Sailor Venus. Her home was impressive. It was a three-story house with a garage. Usagi didn’t know if that meant Minako owned a car or not, but it was quite a feat for a single person in their early 20s. She hoped Luna didn’t relay how pathetic her one bedroom tiny apartment was to her leader. 

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

“There’s a doorbell,” Luna whispered into Usagi’s ear. She flushed and pressed the button.

After a moment, the intercom beside her beeped. “Who is it?” the voice on the other side said. A male voice.

Luna leaned over and pressed a paw to the intercom, “Artemis, it’s me. I’ve brought Usagi. She’d was hoping to have a word with Minako,” the cat said.

There was no answer, and the silence seemed to linger on. The door finally opened to reveal a white cat.

“Usagi!” The new cat said. “It’s lovely to finally meet you.”

Luna hopped down from Usagi’s shoulder, and she and Artemis nuzzled. Usagi raised an eyebrow. Luna, that dog, er, cat, was holding out on her with a secret beau.

She followed the cats in and shut the door behind her.

“Artemis,” Luna inquired, “when did you get back?”

“This morning, actually,” he said. “I was following up on the North American conflicts and checking in with Katarina. It seems like it’s finally quiet over there, while, here, the Japanese activity has really been on the rise.”

The two cats lead the way while Usagi followed behind. Artemis moved slowly and with a limp. The interior of Minako’s home could have been in a Western magazine. It was sparsely furnished and full of windows. Luxury, white furniture with wooden accents were set over a cream rug. A few large abstract art pieces hung perfectly on accent walls beside very well framed Sailor V memorabilia.

Usagi smiled at this. Finally, there was something the two had in common. Sailor V was the best.

They rounded a corner to a stairwell and proceeded downwards to a basement floor. It had a landing, then a closed door with a hydraulic cat door and a red light. Artemis pressed a button and continued chatting with Luna.

“I’ve also been working on a new simulator,” he explained. “Something that might appeal to our girls since their older now,” he said.

“Usagi would be fine with some of the old Sailor V ones. She never lost her interest in video games,” Luna commented.

“Hey,” Usagi said indignantly. “It’s part of my profession to be in the know.”

The light above turned green, and Luna and Artemis walked through the cat door. Usagi hesitated. She felt like she was breaking into a secure facility instead of visiting a friend. She turned the knob.

It was a music studio. The walls were black with noise control tiles. Several guitars, a keyboard, and an electric drum kit were carefully set to the side. Minako sat in an office style chair before several monitors; her large headphones draped around her neck. A small music mixer was beside her. Artemis and Luna sat beside a small laptop on the floor.

“Is everything okay?” Minako asked.

Usagi flushed. She felt like an intruder. Or a peeping Tom. Minako, lounging in her chair in pale orange joggers and a cream tank top, looked so vulnerable. All her hair was piled on her head, red bow added messily to the side.

Usagi rubbed the back of her head. “Um, I…” Usagi trailed off.

Minako arched her eyebrows in an _out with it_ expression.

“What is all this?” Usagi asked.

“It’s just a hobby,” Minako said.

“Some hobby,” Usagi said, in genuine awe. “Can you play all these instruments?”

Minako shrugged. “Somewhat.”

“That’s so amazing,” Usagi said, walking over to acoustic guitar and gently touching it.

There was a little smile on Minako’s face. “I don’t think you came all this way to talk about my hobbies.”

Usagi sighed, her shoulders drooping. “I thought maybe we could discuss last night.”

Minako turned back to her computer and started clicking on her mouse.

“Why didn’t you call a meeting at the temple then?” Minako asked suspiciously. “Rei should be involved.”

Usagi cringed. “Well, it is a Shinto holiday,” she started, “And I was kinda hoping, that maybe, by strategizing, we could…” Usagi gestured at the air, struggling to find the words. “Maybe get to know each other better.”

“Why?”

“So we can be friends!” Usagi said cheerfully.

Minako blinked. Was the idea of friendship so foreign?

“It might help with our teamwork,” Usagi added.

“Some bonding would do you all good,” Luna added. “Teamwork will be key to defeating the Dark Kingdom.”

Minako sighed. “Would you like something to drink then?”

XXX

On the walk to the kitchen, Usagi exclaimed, “Oh, yeah! I see you’re a Sailor V fan! She was my hero as a growing up.”

At the kitchen, Minako’s cheeks turned pink. Her kitchen was immaculate. As if no one ever used it. White countertops with copper pans hung above an industrial stove. Minako opened the giant silver refrigerator door, and Usagi smiled with camaraderie. The fridge was almost as bare as hers.

“Um, I’m not exactly a fan,” Minako said shyly. “I played her. She was based on my work as Sailor Venus.”

“No way!”

Minako looked actually bashful. “Artemis had just found me, and I ended up telling my friend Alan everything.”

She sighed and closed the fridge, then walked over to a different cabinet. Reaching up she pulled out two glasses and a bottle of Habiki before continuing, “His dad was a tv exec, and we thought that the best way to hide was in plain sight.”

Minako poured the whiskey into one of the glasses, then downed it before then filling both again. She walked to Usagi and offered her the second glass.

Usagi chewed on her lip, suspecting this story was about to become very dark. Sailor V ended rather unexpectedly after season 3.

“Alan died when I was 17,” Minako continued. “He was out on a mission with me, and Tuxedo Kamen could only save one of us. He picked me.”

Usagi’s eyes widened as a piece fell into place. Why Minako hated Tuxedo Kamen. Why she was so adamant about keeping Senshi business separated. Usagi felt her heartbreak.

Minako looked up at the ceiling and wiped away the tear before it could fall. “Damn it, it’s been seven years and I still get choked up about it.”

Seven years? Just how long had this girl been Sailor Venus?

Minako shook her head and continued, “After that, I quit acting, and went to college to pursue my dreams. Music.”

“Which is why you have a studio,” Usagi deduced.

Minako nodded. She sipped on her whiskey before continuing. ”I met someone in college, a med student.”

“Ooo, I’m assuming cute and well off? Almost got with a doctor?” Usagi winked.

Minako smiled softly. “He was so good looking. And so good in bed. We almost got married, but, he knew I was keeping a secret. We both were. But, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about this.”

“Why not?” Usagi asked.

“Alan died because he was a civilian out on duty with me. He wasn’t even like Katarina. She was the police detective I worked with,” Minako supplied. “I didn’t want my fiance to be killed by monsters because he wanted to help. It was too much, too big, and our relationship fell apart a few weeks before the wedding.

“So, I came back here, because the Dark Kingdom activity was spiking. It made for a convenient getaway. Then I found Rei, and now you,” she said.

She downed her glass of whiskey. Silence lingered in the air while Usagi contemplated her own glass.

“Damn girl,” Usagi finally added. “No wonder you’re so stressed. That’s a hell of a history.”

Minako laughed. She started to pour herself another shot when Usagi took the bottle from her. Usagi smiled as she refilled Minako’s glass. Minako stared for a moment, registering the gesture. She often forgot Japanese customs since she’d spent her formative years in the Western world.

Usagi held her glass up for a toast, and Minako clinked her newly filled glass against it. 

“Kampai!” the pigtailed blonde cheered. This time, they drank together. Usagi cringed a little at the burn of whiskey at lunchtime. Minako tried not to laugh.

“What you need,” Usagi said, “is a vacation.”

Minako blinked. “A vacation?” she asked.

“Yeah. Something relaxing. Something away from Dark Kingdom monsters, and old boyfriends, but full of potential hook-ups,” Usagi continued. “Like a cruise.”

Minako looked thoughtful for a second. She hadn’t been on a vacation since… she actually couldn’t remember her last real vacation. It had actually been a sore point between her and her ex-fiance. They couldn’t even agree on a honeymoon destination. Clearly, it was doomed.

“Maybe you’re right,” Minako said. “Would you come with me?”

“Hell yes,” Usagi said. “I’m always down for a vacation. Though, if I’m being perfectly honest, right now I do not have the means for a ticket…”

“I can get free tickets,” Minako said.

“Huh?”

“The musical director of the new _Love Luxury_ ship that’s launching in two weeks owes me some favors. I could get tickets comped for all of us. You, me, Rei.” She sighed then added, “And I guess that new boyfriend of yours too. It is supposed to be a ‘romantic’ cruise after all.”

“Seriously? You can call this guy up and get tickets?” Usagi said.

“Hey, old connections in show business has its perks. I also did all the compositions for his last original production for free,” she said. “He owes me.”

“If you did it all for free, how do you live in a place like this?” Usagi asked gobsmacked. “Like, holy smokes girl.”

“I own 10% of all Sailor V,” Minako continued. “I’ll be living off residuals for life.”

‘Life is so not fair,” Usagi said. “Not only are you my hero, but you’re living the dream. Well, the dream if you were to swap music for video games and manga.”

Minako laughed.

“This is gonna be so much fun!” Usagi cooed. “I’m texting Mamo-chan now.”

“Mamo-chan?” Minako asked, eyebrow arched.

“Kinda a long story,” Usagi said. “But, just know he deserves it. So, you have to tell me, what’s it like working in film?”

XXX

Mamoru was drowning in luggage. He’d brought a duffle bag and soft suit rack. Usagi had brought half her closet, and probably half her laundry since her wardrobe seemed to live on the floor. She’d had to borrow suitcases from him to fit everything. For a four day cruise.

“This way Mamo-chan!” she called out, pushing through the crowd of embarkers with her small rolling carry-on.

“Usa, I am not your personal luggage trolly,” he complained.

“No, you’re much cuter than a trolly,” she retorted. 

She stopped abruptly before him. It took all his reflexes (natural and supernatural) to keep her excessive luggage from crashing into her.

“Huh, I wonder where the girls are,” she said while looking around. People swarmed around them. Mamoru felt his anxiety grow.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Mamoru grumbled.

“You’re gonna love them,” Usagi said. “Plus, we’ll get some serious romantic time in.” 

She nudged his shoulder with hers, nearly toppling his precariously perched tower. He shook his head. Finally, a porter came to take their bags. Usagi handed off her little carry-on, then the porter’s face fell when he saw Mamoru.

“Is this all for…” the porter looked between him and Usagi.

“Yup,” Mamoru said, happily dumping the mountain of luggage onto the poor sap. “Shoes. Who knew?”

The porter stared wide-eyed as Mamoru waved and followed after Usagi.

This was a four-day special sneak preview of the new cruise ship _Love Luxury_. And it wasn’t even going very far. Just up the coastline to some hot springs, then back to Tokyo Bay. A day at sea, a day at port, a day at sea, then disembarkation at Tokyo Bay. The time at sea was marketed as time to be spent with your significant other. Though, there wasn’t much more than a relaxing all you can eat weekend on a boat with a lover.

It was a little hampered by the fact it was mixed with a girl’s weekend. Still, Usagi’s friend was paying for the tickets.

And they were swanky tickets - priority boarding and VIP access. It also meant eating for free on all the pay restaurants too. Maybe they could book it one night for something special. Celebrate their newfound togetherness. Did they have a label? Should they put a label on it?

Usagi took his hand as they walked up the boardwalk, and onto the deck. Very helpful crew members directed the couple through the main area and to the VIP lounge in the bow. At every turn as if on instinct, Usagi turned in the wrong direction. Mamoru sighed and gave up on hand-holding, instead guiding her by the shoulders.

“Odango, seriously, how hard it is to not go downstairs?” he grumbled at some point.

“Not all of us are born with perfect internal compasses.”

They finally reached the VIP area - a solarium bar overlooking the harbor. Mamoru had to admit it was the perfect spot to watch the launch. Usagi fidgeted, trying to look around the attendant checking their key cards. Once his card reader blinked green, he waved them into the Diamond lounge.

There were twenty or so other people in the lounge, and Usagi squealed with delight when a server offered her Champagne. She grabbed two glasses for herself while she scanned the room for her friends. 

“There they are,” she said, pointing to two women sitting comfortably by a window. Two empty seats were saved beside them. Usagi tugged his hand as she started walking towards a familiar red bow.

The dark-haired woman turned and smiled. She unabashedly checked Mamoru out while she tapped the blonde beside her. Mamoru swallowed hard, his pace slowing. Usagi didn’t notice.

“Hey guys!” she greeted, ignoring the weirdness. “This is my boyfriend, Mamoru, and Mamoru, these are my friends Rei and …”

“Mina,” he said. He tugged at the collar of his shirt. “It’s been awhile.”

“Mamoru,” Minako answered. “I didn’t know you’d moved back to Japan.”

Usagi looked between the two adults, and she and Rei exchanged a glance.

“About six months ago,” he answered.

“How do you two know each other?” Rei asked, unafraid of bringing up the elephant in the room.

They answered at the same time.

“We went to university together,” Mamoru said.

“We were engaged,” Minako said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my! I was almost late with my update! I am so sorry everyone.
> 
> A special thanks to mali86! Thanks for sticking with me and commenting. It really brightens my day.
> 
> A super special thanks to SmokingBomber for beta-ing what she could and my Prince for helping keep all my notes about everything straight. And most of all, thanks to my husband for being my best critic.


	12. ...Is a Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi deals with Mamoru and Minako's history, the Senshi bond, Makoto shows up, and there is a lot of drinking.

“Did you just say engaged?” Rei asked, a little too much excitement in her voice. 

Mamoru sighed and rubbed his brow. Usagi downed both glasses of champagne then signaled for more.

“Mina,” he said, and looked at her from beneath his hand. He was pleading with her. She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to rack her brain for what he was getting at. Their history wasn’t a secret. What did it even matter if... 

Then it clicked. She looked between Mamoru and Usagi, eyes widening.

OH.

Minako and Mamoru had a complicated relationship, but he’d always been honest with her, even from the beginning.

On their third night together she had finally asked him, "Why me?" She'd propped herself up by bundling his fluffy comforter underneath her chest to better read his face.

“Why you what?” he had countered, lazily stretching across the sheets like a sleepy cat in the sun.

“That night at the party,” she'd continued. “You could have had almost any girl there, and undoubtedly some of the boys. But you picked me. Why?”

He'd pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. “How do you want me to answer this, Mina?”

She'd thought for a moment. She was beautiful, somewhat famous, talented, and a power senshi. Why should she fish for compliments? She’d chosen him just as much as he’d chosen her. Besides, would she really turn him down if he texted her again tomorrow?

“The truth.”

He had paused, then told her softly, “You remind me of someone.".

“Oooo, a past lover? Someone who broke your heart? Someone forbidden?”

The corner of his mouth smirked. “Does it matter?” 

She had nodded enthusiastically. “Well, I need to know if I remind you of the sister. Because that would be weird.”

He laughed. “She was definitely not my sister.” He struggled to find the next words, “I guess we were friends. Doesn’t matter. We were never gonna work out.”

“The one who got away…” Mina said wistfully.

“Not even that. More like the one that never was.” He turned his head to look at her with those sexy ocean blue eyes. “Why did you pick me?”

She smiled at him. “Because you’re nothing like him.” Nothing like Alan. It was true.

“Well, I guess that means we’re perfect for each other,” he said. She had thought maybe they were. Perhaps it’s why it worked so well. They had been too busy pretending the other was or wasn’t someone else.

Someone else he loved. Someone it would never have worked out with. Someone blonde. Someone bubbly. Someone he left in Japan. Usagi. 

“Is she…” Minako asked, in English, eyebrow raised. Mamoru blushed with a sharp nod.

In that instant, Minako’s heart softened. She was the Senshi of Love. Even if Senshi were never going to have happily ever afters, they could have this. For a little while.

A genuine smile crossed her lips at that moment. “I mentioned him the other night,” she added in Japanese. “We were engaged in college, but we split amicably.” 

“You never mentioned that little detail to me,” Rei grumbled.

Minako ignored her and continued, “So, what I want to know is, how did you two meet?”

And with that, the tension was momentarily defused.

XXX

After downing enough champagne to make her head fuzzy, Usagi cried, “Let’s hit the pool!”

What she needed now was cool fun, a shirtless Mamoru, and more alcohol.

“I don’t have my swimsuit,” Rei responded.

“Since I know fun isn’t a priority to any of you, especially you Mamo-chan,” she started, reaching for the tote bag Mamoru was carrying for her, “I packed suits for everyone!”

She’d hoped her thoughtfulness might have made some headway in getting through Minako’s walls. Of course, she hadn't expected to encounter a secret history between Minako and Mamoru.

Usagi was the only one who didn’t need to change, so she waited for others and thought about the situation.

Minako had confessed to an engagement back at her house. (Mamoru had conveniently not mentioned one, ever.) But she didn’t elaborate. She just said that relationships with Senshi didn't ever seem to work out. Now here was Usagi with the relationship that hadn't worked out for her sister senshi. Except-- it had to be different between herself and Mamoru, right? They had a history. Ish.

Minako and Mamoru were chatting as they walked up to Usagi, and Mamoru was smiling. He wasn't the smiling and chatting sort. It didn’t help that Minako looked great in her bikini, all muscle tone and tan. Usagi was softer, not fat, but certainly no athlete. 

She needed another drink.

There was a bar beside the pool, and it was the perfect excuse to escape from everyone. “Who needs a refill?” Usagi called out.

Minako’s order was an old fashioned; Rei and Mamoru wanted Hibiki on the rocks. Usagi broke the mold by deciding she needed a mojito. She sat at the bar, waiting for her drinks and looking everywhere but at her boyfriend and his too-chummy ex-fiance. (Also, no cell coverage or wifi on the boat. What were they thinking?)

This was how she became invested in the Amazon, who was having a heated fight with a handsome man at the opposite side of the pool. Usagi couldn’t quite make out the whole conversation, but she was sure she heard “two-timing bastard.” The man was basically cowering, and Usagi couldn’t blame him. The Amazon was clearly not having any of it. She was confident in a green bikini, auburn hair, and the body of Wonder Woman. This guy, a little on the soft side, didn’t stand a chance.

“Did you really think you were gonna bring another woman on this cruise and get away with it?” she thundered.

Usagi blinked. So juicy.

She couldn’t hear what the guy replied, but the Amazon pushed him unceremoniously into the pool. The splash brought all attention to the two of them, but she didn’t care. She turned on her heel, walking away.

“But Mako, baby! I love you!” he called.

Her response - raising her middle finger and refusing to look back as she walked away.

Usagi not only wanted to subscribe to this woman’s newsletter, she wanted every back issue even if she had to get them on ebay. 

So when the woman sat beside Usagi at the bar, Usagi didn’t even think before asking, “Want a mojito?”

“That sounds perfect,” the woman answered.

Usagi pushed her drink to the woman, who downed it.

“Men are such assholes.”

“Isn’t that the truth?” Usagi commiserated.

“So much for a romantic getaway. I’m Makoto, by the way,” Makoto said, holding her hand out to Usagi.

Usagi beamed as she shook hands. “Usagi! Nice to meet you. Though I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“Well, this could be the best circumstances of my life!” Mako said and laughed genuinely. “I’m on a beautiful cruise, enjoying a perfect drink with amiable company, and without the weight of a cheating asshole.”

Usagi was smitten. She ordered two more mojitos while the ice melted in the others’ original drink order. They would be fine with watered down drinks.

“So if you’re on a romantic cruise and hating on men, I’m taking it your getaway isn’t starting as expected either?” Mako said. “We just left port.”

“Yeah. Turns out that my new friend, who got me the tickets and is with us, is my new boyfriend’s ex-fiance,” Usagi said. Sometimes it was easier to unload on a stranger, especially when she felt such a strong bond already.

“Damn, I’m sorry I drank your mojito. But I think this calls for something stronger,” Mako said. She snapped her fingers at the bartender. “Scratch that order. We need tequila. Pronto.”

The bartender obeyed, and Usagi smiled. This was exactly what she needed. When she brought drinks back to her other friends, she had a new phone number and a new friend who would be joining them for dinner.

 

XXX

Minako had picked this cruise line because the boat had a Sasuke training course, which she'd proceeded to book for private sessions two hours each day. The slogan was “Bring your relationship to new heights with our couple’s challenge!” so the girls would need to work together to get through the course. This meant there was a semi-dangerous, harness requiring, obstacle course above deck.

Usagi groaned. Designed for couples. She was clearly the third wheel here.

Their instructor, AKA the person who basically absolved the cruise of liability, stood aloof in the corner, playing on her phone. Did she have a secret wifi password or something? Usagi glared.

“Okay,” Minako said, bring Usagi’s attention to their first challenge - Quintuple Steps. Five inclined platforms to jump between. Usagi felt queasy, and of course Minako looked excited. 

Their fearless leader put some chalk on her hands and looked at her girls, then leapfrogged from platform to platform far too easily. 

Rei smiled and followed. She even added some flourishes and twirling onto the landing. Minako nodded appreciatively as Rei joined her. Together, they looked at Usagi. 

Usagi groaned.

XXX

If this were a movie, Usagi’s attempts would be a montage. She jumped and missed. Jumped and missed. Jump landed then missed. She fell backward. She dangled from her harness, swimming in the air to reach the second step. At some point, Rei got bored enough to sit down and play on her cellphone, legs dangling off the platform.

“This isn’t working,” Minako said.

Usagi was just dangling between platforms, somehow in a dead stop, waving her hands in a feeble attempt to reach the next stepping stone.

“No kidding,” Rei agreed, glancing up from her phone. “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe she was a senshi.”

Minako sighed, “We’re never going to get anywhere.” Usagi was becoming increasingly tangled in her harness. Somehow her ankle was caught in her wire, but she couldn’t actually reach it.

“Someone should help her,” Rei said, offhandedly.

If this were a cartoon, a light bulb would have turned on above Minako’s head. “It’s not working because we’re not working together,” she whispered.

Rei arched an eyebrow at her.

“Follow my lead,” Minako said, and she started jumping back to the beginning. Effortlessly, Minako grabbed Usagi on the way and hauled her back to the start. Rei took a few moments to secure her phone again before following. 

“I’m sorry,” Usagi said, still dangling upside-down. “I’m not very good at this.”

“No, you’re not.” Minako freed Usagi’s ankle. “But we’re not very good at this,” she added gesturing between the three of them.

“Okay, Rei, jump to the first platform,” Mina instructed. Rei did so, with ease. She stayed in place, using one hand to grip the top of the wedge-like piece. 

“Now, catch!” Mina threw Usagi at her. Usagi screamed. Rei caught her and held her on the platform.

Usagi continued screaming.

“Cool it, Odango, I’ve got you,” Rei reassured.

“I thought you were gonna drop me!”

Rei rolled her eyes. “I may not be Tuxedo Kamen, but come on. I’m not gonna let you fall to your doom.”

With Rei’s help, Usagi managed to find a purchase on the step. She and Rei smiled at each other.

“Now what?” Rei said.

“Now, make room for me,” Minako called. Rei didn’t have a chance to ask how Mina expected that because the girl was jumping.

“Hold on,” Rei said to Usagi. Gripping her hand, Rei pushed the Usagi off the platform. Rei held tight, Usagi dangled off the side, and Minako landed beside them.

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Minako said. Minako jumped to the next platform, and Rei realized what was happening. She smiled slyly.

“Okay, Usagi,” Rei said. “Think quick!” And Rei tossed Usagi to Minako. The repeated this, slowly, (and loudly) making progress across the stepping stones. In a reasonable amount of time, the three girls made it to the next landing. Once there, they high-fived.

“We did it!” Usagi cheered.

“Well, we did it,” Rei said gesturing to her and Mina. “You were a glorified beach ball.”

“Most importantly,” Mina mediated, “we did it together.”

“Girls,” the instructor called. “I’m glad you’ve finally cleared the first obstacle, but your time’s up.”

While maybe they could have used more training, Minako did feel better about things. She had to remember that they were a unit, and that even if they were only as strong as their weakest link, that link was improving every day

XXX

Usagi had wreaked havoc on their suite, or in her words, made it just like home. Mamoru carved out a small hole for himself on the bed, where he sat waiting and attempting to read _The Metaphysical Book of Gems and Crystals_. She tottered around in a matching set of bra and panties. This made it difficult for him to focus on reading.

“Which one?” Usagi prompted, turning toward him. She held up two dresses - both cocktail, one a pink, one blue with stars.

“Stars,” Mamoru responded. She shimmied into the dress and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hands smoothed over her stomach.

“Does this make me look fat?”

Mamoru shook his head. He climbed out of bed and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “You look beautiful,” he whispered in her ear.

“You have to say that,” she said. “But there will be pictures, and I don’t want our first picture as a couple to make me look fat. I mean, what will our grandkids say?”

He blinked. First picture. First weekend away. First time she’d mentioned their future. Seemed liked a lot of firsts. But it didn’t feel that way. It felt like this is the way it had always been. It felt like a lifetime.

“What a dashing couple they make,” he answered and kissed her. It wasn’t their first kiss, but it still felt like it. Kissing her sent tingles down his spine. Even though he could kiss her whenever he wanted now, there was this small part that urged him to get in as much as he could. That somehow, it was fleeting.

The kissing deepened, and they fell to the bed. Mamoru didn’t think dinner was important anymore. But she put a hand to his chest.

“Well, I need to at least fix my hair,” she said against his lips, nudging him away. He rolled over, and she stepped into the bathroom. He could hear the hairdryer, and he assumed she was up to her mysterious ways.

He sat back on the bed and looked at his book on crystals, carelessly tossed aside. He felt at odds with himself for the first time in years. He was happy, but he wasn’t _supposed_ to be happy. He was _supposed_ to be helping the Princess, the magical girl in his dreams that held the secrets to his past. It had been what drove him to become the elusive Tuxedo Kamen. In return, she’d reward him with the memories he’d lost so many years ago. 

Get the crystal and find the princess had been his mantra for nearly a decade. It had driven him. It had been the most important thing in his life for so long, yet, as time went on, it didn’t feel like it was worth it. He wasn’t sure if he was still hunting the crystal because he wanted his past, or because as a younger man he’d fallen in love with a dream, or, perhaps, because he just wanted to be free of the all-consuming drive.

Now he was living a different sort of dream, and it was at odds with his search for the crystal. That need had quieted since he’d become serious with Usagi, and he was afraid: he didn't want to have to choose between her and his Princess.

Of course, things with Minako had been easy because they’d never been real. She had been a fantasy. When he’d first seen Minako from a distance, he had thought she was his dream princess. (Though, those thoughts had been filtered through a drunken haze brought on by Usagi’s facebook status change from “single” to “in a relationship.”) Still, there had been a pull to the blonde, as if kismet. Minako was so close with her blue eyes and easy laugh. It was easy for him to pretend that maybe she was his destiny.

He knew it was wrong, but it was so nice to not be alone. So easy with her. A real-life fantasy.

As the realness crept in - the dates turning into long weekends, the drawer she started keeping at his place, the toothbrush he left at hers, the titles changing from date to girlfriend to fiancee - his dreams intensified. Even the Dark Kingdom strengthened. He was spending more and more time as Tuxedo Kamen and less and less time with Minako. And Minako didn’t even seem to notice. 

As the wedding approached, they should have been moving in together, but they were drifting apart. He was waking up. It was too easy to postpone a date (or netflix and chill) in order to investigate a lead, and she accepted it just as quickly. Sometimes she was the one who vanished, for which he never begrudged her because of his own Tuxedo Kamen disappearing act. In hindsight, it was probably part of the reason they worked so well as a couple. 

Mamoru ended it one afternoon at lunch. A much-needed date, since they hadn’t seen each other all week. He’d meant to tell her. They were going to be married soon. Shouldn’t he confess his double life? 

Their conversation had been banal. Talking about everything and nothing at all. He kept trying to figure out how to work it into the conversation when his phone rang.

“It’s the wedding venue,” he said to her, placing the phone on the table top.

She quietly watched the phone screen. Watched the number scroll across the screen and the phone buzz on the table. It went to voicemail.

“We need to make the final payment,” he added. And tell her the truth.

She took a sip of her wine. “Mmm,” she said, and looked in the distance.

“We don’t have to,” he said. We don’t have to confess our darkest secrets.

Now she looked at him, something of relief floated in her eyes.

“I’ve been thinking about going back to Japan,” she said.

“To live?”

She nodded.

“When?” he asked, eating a piece of his chicken.

“Soon,” she answered, then shrugged.

“I’m not going to go with you,” he said.

She smiled sadly. “I didn’t think you were,” she answered. “But I can’t say I didn’t hope.”

The phone rang again. The venue calling back.

“I don’t think…” he started, hoping that it would be harder to say then it was, “I don’t think this is working out.”

She fiddled with the ring on her finger. “No, I don’t suppose it is,” she answered. She slowly took the ring off and placed it on the table.

“You can keep it,” he said.

“It was nice,” she said. “But I don’t think so.”

She finished her glass of wine. He paid the bill. She got on a plane of Japan the next day, and he shipped her the box of her things. Including the ring. And that was it. Until today.

Usagi poked her head out of the bathroom. “Have you seen my star earrings?” 

“The topaz ones?” he followed up.

“Yes! Those. Where?” she asked.

“In the pink bag on your nightstand,” Mamoru answered. She jumped on the bed, sprawling across his lap and digging in the bag. Still in his lap, she retrieved the earrings and put them in. Once done, she straddled him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Thank you,” she said and kissed him.

Mamoru stared at her, utterly lovestruck. He was glad Motoki wasn’t here to tease. Or Minako. She slid off his lap and hurried towards the door where she shuffled with her shoes.

“Hurry up!” she called to him. “We’re already late.”

Like it was his fault. He rolled his eyes, then followed her out into the hallway.

XXX

“Do you think our picture came out all right?” Usagi asked as she sat at the table. She unfolded her napkin, put in in her lap, took it out of her lap, then put it back in her lap.

“I’m sure one of the six you made the poor kid take will be wonderful,” he said. He kissed her cheek.

Rei and Minako were already drinking wine at the table when they got there. Usagi hoped that they wouldn’t chide her for being late.

“Ooo, speaking of pictures,” Minako added. “We should get one. The three of us.”

“Really?” Usagi squeaked. “I think that’s a great idea!”

She stood up to go back to the picture line, but Rei grabbed Usagi’s wrist. “Maybe after dinner?” she added.

Mamoru was happy to see Minako smiling. Smiling like maybe there was some hope in the world. She could shine like the sun when she chose to, but she often let her darkness block her light. Then again, Usagi always brought out the light in people.

“Is it still okay if I join you?” an auburn-haired woman asked.

“Makoto!” Usagi said. Of course, Usagi would know this woman. She was stunning, wearing a green bodycon halter dress. 

Usagi pulled a chair over from an empty table nearby and wedged it between her and Mamoru. Realizing her placement fail, she then moved between her and Rei. Everyone else shuffled accordingly.

Of course, only during the chaos did Usagi add, “That’s okay with you guys, right?”

“I'm sorry for intruding, but I really don’t want to spend my dinners with the loser and his other girlfriend,” Makoto said.

“Mako’s boyfriend brought the woman he was cheating with on this cruise too,” Usagi said.

Minako and Rei cringed. Even Mamoru pulled at his collar.

“No wonder you don’t want to sit with him,” Rei said. “He sounds like a real gem.”

“You’re telling me,” Makoto said as she sat down. “But he’s just another in a long line of men who have screwed me. And not in the fun way. You two have it right.” Makoto indicated Rei and Minako.

Rei flushed a deep red, her eyes widening. “We’re just friends,” she said.

“Yes, I got comp'd tickets, and I didn’t have anyone, so I brought my friend Rei. And since I figured at least one of us should enjoy the amenities, I offered tickets for Usagi and her beau,” Minako clarified.

Makoto took this all in stride. “Shame. You two would make a cute couple,” she said. The waiter came by and refilled wine glasses (Makoto grabbed a glass from the chairless table). Dinner orders were taken, and the conversation continued with a pleasant tone that had been absent through most of the day.

Makoto fit in better than anyone thought she should, like a piece of the puzzle. Minako wished Luna was here to see if she could get a feel for the girl. But! She did have the next best aura reader beside her.

Discreetly, Minako typed 'Can you read her aura? I have a funny feeling.' Then handed her phone to Rei.

As Makoto regaled the table with the exploits of her latest boyfriend and his side girlfriend, Rei discreetly checked the phone. She smiled at Minako. 

“Wanna see a neat trick?” Rei asked.

“I do!” Usagi exclaimed.

“Waiter! Tea, with leaves for everyone,” Rei called.

“You can read tea leaves?” Makoto asked.

“Yeah! Rei is a Shinto priestess,” Usagi said. “It’s super neat.”

The tea came around and conversations continued. Mamoru finished his glass first, and Rei picked it up. She was curious about him. There was something about him that she just couldn’t put her finger on. His leaves were murky - he was looking for something, something dangerous. Rei felt a little uneasy and hoped that it wouldn’t interfere with Usagi.

“I’m done!” Usagi said after finishing her cup like she was taking a shot. She eagerly handed her cup to Rei.

“Okay okay,” Rei said, taking the cup. Like Usagi herself, her fortune was clear. Still, Rei knew to make a show of it. 

“It says you're more than meets the eye, and that…” Rei trailed off. It said that she’s should be careful with a ...soulmate. Rei’s eyes darted between Usagi and Mamoru.

“And that what?” Usagi asked eagerly.

“Be careful with your heart,” Rei amended. “Something bad will happen in the future.”

Usagi looked a little sad at that. Mamoru furrowed his brow.

“I mean, it probably has nothing to do with Mamoru,” Rei said, waving off Usagi’s insecurities. “These things are vague.”

“Well, try mine,” Minako said, handing Rei her cup.

“You will encounter someone from your past, and they will be the key?” Rei said. She blinked but couldn’t get a clear meaning on this one.

Makoto handed her cup over. “I hope mine says that I’ll meet someone handsome in my future. And that he won’t be an asshole.”

Rei looked into the cup. The chain, the orbit, and the sun. Was that a planetary symbol? She wasn’t sure what that meant for them as senshi, but Makoto would be important. “It says that you have a destiny,” Rei said, glancing at Minako out the corner of her eye. “And that everything will be clear soon.”

They needed to keep Makoto close.

Dinner proceeded with more laughs and good times, and as dessert came, Mamoru stretched. He passed his plate over to Usagi. She delighted in the second serving of Mont Blanc.

“I'm worn out, I think I’m going to head back to our room,” he said. “But I think you should all go out. There’s a dance party or something. You could make a girl's night of it. That way, I can have Usako to myself tomorrow.”

A flattering pink crept across Usagi’s cheeks at her nickname. “Okay,” she said.

Rei mouthed “Usako?” and waggled her eyebrows.

“Do you mind if I join you?” Makoto asked. “I could really use some girl time.”

“The more, the merrier,” Minako said, surprising even herself.

XXX

The girls ordered two more rounds before leaving the dinner table. Feeling tipsy, Usagi convinced the girls to pose for several photographs. (To only Usagi’s surprise, the poor photographer remembered her and groaned when she approached with the group.) As a thank you, Usagi paid for a round of shots at the bar on the way to the Dance Club.

The Dance Club was packed by the time the girls finally made it there. Usagi even had to beg the usher not to close them out. The music was loud and couples gyrated to the beats surrounded by green and red lights. The DJ turned tables on the raised stage that towered above the crowd. Two bars were located on either side of the room, and Usagi beelined for the closest one.

Rei and Minako rolled their eyes while Usagi and Makoto each had one more shot, yet everyone was smiling and feeling like… sisters. Usagi threw her hands in the air in a drunken attempt at pantomiming something.

“What are you doing?” Minako called above the din.

“Trying to reel you in,” Usagi answered.

Rei guffawed, and Minako shook her head. Usagi pushed through and took her hand and said, “Come on! Let’s dance!”

Soon, Minako found herself on the dance floor. Usagi was… moving. Dancing wasn’t quite the right word, but she was doing it really enthusiastically. Minako shook her hips and Makoto bumped them. The girls giggled, and Minako let go. She had done some dancing before. and she busted a few semi-pro moves. 

Usagi watched in amazement, then clapped with delight. Minako’s cheeks hurt from smiling. Maybe this was the bonding they really needed. So what if Usagi was terrible jumping Quintuple Steps or dodging Youma attacks? She was really good at making Minako feel happy in a way that Mina hadn’t for a long time.

The girls were having such a good time that they didn’t notice a familiar blonde man in a grey suit locking the doors. 

The music tempo shifted to something slow and sensual. Makoto rolled her eyes, and Usagi yelled, “More drinks!”

The girls waded through crowds to the edge to find the bar unattended. 

“Huh,” Rei said taking a seat beside Usagi. “That’s weird.”

“Maybe he went to the bathroom,” Usagi suggested. “Hmm, I wonder where that is…”

“Yes, it’s very weird,” Minako said, doing her best to blink the intoxication away. They were the only ones at the bar. The rest of the room seemed to be entranced, dancing in couples, light glimmering like moonbeams through the crowd. What she didn’t see was any of the ship staff. How did she miss that? Was it because she let her guard down?

“Are we the only ones not hooked up?” Makoto chimed in, taking a seat by Usagi. “Like really. You’d think there’d be some other singles out here.”

“Almost have it!” Usagi said. She leaned over the bar, reaching for a bottle of vodka, thinking that maybe she could just mix her own drink. It was Usagi though, and she toppled over the bar and onto the ground.

“Oh shit,” she exclaimed.

The girls followed the commotion. Usagi was sprawled over an unconscious bartender with a bottle of vodka in her hand.

“Oh shit is right,” Makoto said seeing the guy on the floor. “We need to get some help.”

“Is he okay?” Rei asked.

Usagi felt for a pulse but found none. He was, however, breathing softly.

“Okay-ish?” she answered.

Rei headed to the door. She tugged and pushed to no avail. Looking back at the group, she shook her head. The depth of the situation was settling on Minako. Something was very wrong. Her eyes darted looking for clues, for anything. The DJ kept turning her tables, but... the light. The light was changing. It was as if tendrils of light were attached to people like spiderwebs. It wasn’t light. It was their energy.

The dancers started falling, toppling like dominos or Jenga pieces, collapsing in couples. Minako’s eyes narrowed as she followed the tendrils to the disco ball, then to the DJ. A DJ whose skin looked awfully blue. Whose eyes were glowing red.

“Youma,” Rei said, calmly and almost quietly.

Soon, only the four of them were standing. 

Well, technically, Usagi was splayed out over the bar attempting to climb over it.

“Good grief girl,” Rei groaned, pulling Usagi over the bar and helping her to her feet.

Usagi took a swing from the vodka bottle she set it down.

“Liquid courage,” she justified. Rei rolled her eyes.

Makoto took a protective stance in front of the other girls. Her hand clenching into a fist, her posture falling naturally into a fighter’s stance.

“We need to get out of here,” Minako said.

“I don’t think that’s happening, so I’ve got to protect you. Girl’s night and all. Oh, did I mention I’m a champion MMA fighter?” Makoto said with a wink. 

“What! That’s so cool!” Usagi exclaimed. “Think you could give me some pointers?”

After a moment the DJ turned her music off and looked straight at the girls. The silence jarred them. Their ears rang. The DJ stood up like a regent, and started walking over the crowds of bodies.

“My, my, my, what do we have here? A spinster’s club? Couldn’t find any men to warm your beds?” she taunted. As she approached, she looked less and less human. Her eyes became more slitted. Her mouth vanished into sickly pale skin. What had been a headband shifted into more of an insane antler-like protrusion.

“No matter,” the youma continued. “Your energy will work just as well for my queen.”

Her long claw-like hands flicked to the door. Two doors opened just enough to allow two lesser youma to come running in. Without thinking, Makoto charged at them.

Minako and Rei took the other youma while Usagi stood there. Were they really not going to transform? Were their identities so important that they would not only risk their own lives but Makoto’s as well? Well, Usagi had An Opinion on that.

“Moon Prism Power Make-Up!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHH!! I'm getting this posted just in time! So I'm gonna be quick.
> 
> THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS! I'm so happy I surprised you.
> 
> The biggest of thanks to Smoking Bomber for beta-ing. She makes this so. so. much. better.
> 
> And a big thanks to my Hubby. You are the best fan a writer could ask for.


	13. Jupiter Strikes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jupiter appears and together, she and Sailor Moon take down the monster Tidus.

The cabin was silent. Mamoru shouldn’t have minded. He’d been thinking of the peace and quiet ever since unpacked his book earlier that day. There was plenty to read, and if he desired, a TV to watch. The gentle sway of the boat, almost imperceptible, was comforting. It was the perfect recipe for relaxation, yet the words about crystals continued to blur. He missed Usagi.

Crystals, magic, dreams, Senshi- all the things that he should be thinking of while his girlfriend enjoyed her night out. He sighed and tried to focus again. She needed time with her friends. They were opposites in many ways; she thrived with others when he needed solitude. Six years wasn’t going to change that. Back to the book.

Since the appearance of Sailor Moon, Mamoru, as Tuxedo Kamen, had been inexplicably drawn to her. They shared some psychic connection, and he knew in his bones, he was to protect her. It was not a connection he shared with Venus or Mars. His interaction with them seemed to be more based on coincidence than the pull he felt with Moon. He hoped to pry Moon away from Venus at some point to ask about the Princess. The complicated history between Venus and himself was nothing but trouble. Still, he believed his connection to Sailor Moon had to be related to his dream princess. What other explanation was there?

So when Sailor Moon’s terror crashed into him, and he doubled over, it wasn’t the newest Senshi he thought of but Usagi.

There was a youma on this boat, which meant Usagi was in danger. Throwing his book and forgetting his room key, he transformed before exiting the room, rushing towards the pull in his chest.

Please be okay, Usako.

XXX  
The flurry of light, magic, and music ended with Sailor Moon striking a pose.

“I am the beautiful Senshi, Sailor Moon, and on behalf of all party goers everywhere, I will punish you!”

“A Senshi? Well, Senshi, I am Thetis. You should know my name, the name of the servant who kills you,” Thetis said. Water appeared in her hand. It started as an orb, then stretched into something weapon-like.

“Usagi! You’re a Senshi! That’s so badass,” Makoto said after getting a good kick in on the youma charging her.

Suddenly, Thetis’s water ball shot out towards Usagi like a spear. “You shall rue the day you challenged me!”

“Usagi!” Minako cried. “Look out!”

Sailor Moon, who was attempting to fist pump at Makoto’s compliment, tripped, and the water spear missed her entirely, crashing into the bar behind her. Bottles shatter, and the pungent odor of liquor filled the air.

“Oh, no! The booze!”

“Of course, my new friend had to be the incompetent Senshi,” Makoto grumbled under her breath. The distraction gave the youma an opportunity to backhand her, and she fell to her knees.

Makoto growled. She wasn’t going to be defeated; she was going to help her new friends. No matter what. Her body felt energized, and she didn’t notice the burning on her forehead as the green symbol of Jupiter appeared.

But Minako did.

Minako and Rei, even as civilians, were proving a match for the youma. The monster would go for one, and the other would attack. However, they weren’t going to defeat it without their powers. Minako’s brain raced with ways to disguise her transformation until she saw the symbol of Makoto’s forehead. She smiled. Good job, Usagi.

“Rei,” Minako said. “Handle this for just a moment. I’m gonna get some backup.”

Minako twirled from the melee as if it were a dance and dashed towards Makoto. Seeing an opportunity, she aimed for the other monster’s legs, sliding into the youma like a baseball player and knocking it off its feet.

“Makoto!” Minako cried, producing Jupiter’s transformation pen. “Take this and call Jupiter Power Make Up!” She tossed Makoto the item, who caught it with ease.

Makoto blinked at the object. “What the hell am I gonna do with a tube of lipstick?”

“Jupiter Power Make Up!” Minako instructed again. She rolled her eyes; it didn’t seem like Makoto was gonna get it. So she pulled out her own stick.

“Venus Power Make Up!”

Golden light encircled Minako as the magic manifested as stars, glitter, and ribbons, transforming her from Minako Aino to Sailor Venus. She finished by striking a pose.

“Oh,” Makoto said.

Rei upon hearing the henshin, stuck an ofuda scroll on her youma and responded with, “Mars Power Make-Up!”

Makoto shook her head with concession. “What the hell, Jupiter Power Make Up!”

The transformation was electric. The world slowed around her as power enveloped her, magical armor covering her chest, arms, and legs. Lightning thrummed around her, and she buzzed with a sense of belonging. A piece of her soul found - something she often looked for in lovers, yet turned out it had just been this. Her true calling as a Senshi, and her name, Sailor Jupiter.

Smiling from the power coursing through her, she looked at the youma Venus had knocked over. A little antenna popped from her tiara, focusing the energy channeling through her.

“Time to go to hell,” she said. “Supreme Thunder!”

The blast flew from her hand and into the youma, turning it to dust.

XXX  
The hallway was mostly empty. He only startled a few hallway stragglers as he barrelled through, letting his connection to Sailor Moon guide him. In only a few minutes, he found himself outside of the dance club, and his heart sank.

Music pulsated behind the club doors, but everything seemed too placid. People should be coming and going or lounging in the small seating area outside. He reached for the door only to find it locked. He pressed his ear to the door, but he couldn't hear anything. Deciding another tactic was needed, he slammed his shoulder into the door.

He had the dignity not to scream in pain. After a second, he refocused and tried again. Then kicked at the door. He even tried to pick the lock with a rose. Nothing was making that door budge.

He didn't need whatever connection he had to the Senshi to know that this was trouble. Usagi was in there. He had to do something. The day she'd been attacked at the arcade haunted him, and he'd never forgiven himself for it.

Panic bubbled just below the surface, but he kept his restraint. There had to be another way. His eyes scanned his surroundings, finally resting on a window that faced the deck. The deck. There was undoubtedly an alternate entrance there! Finally, he saw a window. Using his superhuman abilities successfully, he jumped to the window.

Balancing precariously on the lip of the window, Tuxedo Kamen peered in. His heart dropped when he saw the nightclub. Bodies littered the floor. His eyes searched for his girlfriend's tell-tale blonde hair but found nothing. Instead, he noticed Mars and Venus tag-teaming one youma while another green Senshi battled a second monster. The green one zapped the creature, turning it to ash. Tuxedo Kamen raised his eyebrows. Lightning was new; he'd need to be careful.

Sailor Moon was struggling against the more powerful youma in the middle of the room. She darted and tripped her way through defensive combat. He started to shake his head at her lack of tactics when he realized what she was doing - drawing the youma away from the people on the floor.

He wanted to search more for Usagi, to check among the people on the ground and make sure she was okay, but he knew he didn't have time. There was a girl in trouble right in front of him, and she was trying to keep his girlfriend safe, even if she didn't know it. He pressed against the glass. Now, if only he could get in.

XXX  
In the back of her mind, Sailor Moon knew that Rei, Minako, and Makoto were fighting too, but seriously, where were they? She was the least suited for fighting this blue, mouthless baddie. At least, she made a half decent distraction. (It was the only successful tactic in her arsenal at the moment.)

She focused on her adversary, which caused her to tumble over a speaker. To be fair, she knew the speaker was nearby, but dodging her surroundings and attacks while drawing the monster away from civilians at the same time was really hard. So, she focused on the most intimidating prospect, Thetis. (Sailor Moon would have to puzzle why youma really enjoyed introducing themselves to her, and why their names were terrible, later.) This creature wasn’t like the monster in the arcade or the one in the fortune shop. Rather, Thetis was more like the men she met at the night club. Moon was head to head against something much more powerful: a level boss.

It was a terrible position for an inept Senshi like herself to be in.

At least she’d moved onto the stage. However, it did not appear that the wall of window before her had an emergency exit. Just a cinematic view of the ocean and a dead end. Well, shit. She turned to face her doom.

“Gotcha you little serpent!” Thetis called as she tackled Moon by the shoulders. The force pushed the two through the glass and out onto the deck of the ship. A couple, who hadn’t been at the club but enjoying a quiet, romantic walk, screamed before heading below deck.

Thetis pinned Moon to the ground, straddling the Senshi with one hand around her neck. Thetis raised her other hand, palm out to the ocean. A tendril of water rose from beside the ship, like a charmed snake, then speared towards Moon.

Thetis was knocked from atop Moon. The force pulled Moon away from the water spear, which pierced the deck where her head had been. A hand on her wrist pulled her to her feet, and she finally saw her savior- Tuxedo Kamen.

“Thank you,” she said. He nodded and stood beside her as they faced Thetis.

“Let’s finish this,” he said, drawing his cane sword like a knight. She nodded to him, and something settled between them. With Kamen by her side, everything felt, right, as if a missing cog in the gears of her battling system had been found.

He lunged at Thetis. The youma dodged, and, seeing an opportunity, Moon kicked the monster in its blind spot. (Rei and Minako would be so proud! She was using her training!) Tuxedo Kamen followed with a slice of his cane.

In passing, Moon observed that she and he made a better team than she and the Senshi, but she didn’t have time to dwell on that. While Tuxedo Kamen grappled with the monster, Sailor Moon had time to attack with something more powerful.

“Moon Tiara Action!” she called, hurling her tiara at the creature. It hit its target. Previous youma had crumbled beneath the tiara’s power; Thetis only groaned and clutched her serrated side. The attack was damaging, but it wasn’t strong enough on its own.

“Fuck,” Moon muttered.

Tuxedo Kamen regrouped with her, looking at her for leadership. She shrugged to him and said, “That was literally everything I can do.”

Thetis took the moment to draw another tendril of water.

Kamen seemed grimmer. The two streams of water weaved between themselves in a lavish display of power. Finally, he said, “All right then. Together?”

Nodding, she readied her tiara again. She may only have been a one trick pony, but damn it, she would do that trick over and over again. Lives were counting on her.

“You think you two can stop me? One of Queen Beryl’s most loyal servants?” Thetis laughed. Her arms outstretched, and the twin pillars of water came crashing towards them. Moon and Kamen dodged in different directions. Once safe, she looked at Kamen on the opposite side of the deck. They would never be able to win if they couldn’t work together.

Something substantial landed beside Sailor Moon, and she jumped. An Amazonian Senshi in green and crackling with power winked at her.

“Looks like you need a hand. I’m Sailor Jupiter by the way,” she said.

Moon, who’d been too distracted to notice Makoto’s transformation, stared blankly. “I’m Sailor Moon? Nice to meet you?”

Jupiter shook her head with mild exacerbation. “I’ll explain later. I have an idea.”

“Oh good,” Moon said. “Because I am all out of those.”

“You throw that glowing frisbee of yours. Leave the rest to me,” Jupiter instructed, her hands sparkling with electricity.

Sailor Moon nodded. “Moon Tiara Action!”

“Supreme Thunder!”

Thetis focused on Tuxedo Kamen, who had been the bigger threat, didn’t see it coming. As Sailor Moon’s tiara went flying, Jupiter’s lightning fused with it, energizing the attack. This time, when it hit Thetis, it encased her in electricity. The monster fell to her knees, paralyzed, and Tuxedo Kamen took his opportunity. He sliced the creature’s head off.

The head hit the ground and turned to water, as did the youma’s body.

“Holy shit!” Moon exclaimed. “That was amazing!”

“Teamwork!” Jupiter said as she and Moon high-fived.

Sailor Moon shot Tuxedo Kamen a thumbs up, and he smiled back. His face darkened as he noticed something behind her. Then he tipped his hat and fled. Sailor Moon turned to see what caused his hasty retreat, and she saw Venus and Mars - glaring.

“So, who’s the hunk, and has anyone called dibs on him?” Jupiter asked.

“Someone dangerous,” Venus said. “And off limits.”

“Hmm, I like a bad boy,” Jupiter interjected.

“The victims are still unconscious,” Mars said. “That’s our priority right now.”

Moon was the first to jump back through the broken window. Sure enough, all the victims were still unconscious on the floor.

“There must be something holding all the energy,” Mars reasoned.

“Like the flower?” Moon asked.

Mars nodded.

“The disco ball,” Venus said. “The disco ball looked like it was leaking spider webs.”

Jupiter clapped her hands together. “All right. Then let’s blow it up! Supreme…”

“Wait!” Mars exclaimed. Jupiter crackled with power, but she held it. “Moon should do it. She’s the only one we know successfully returns energy.”

Jupiter turned towards the stage and let her power go. It blew up the DJ’s table.

Moon nodded then sent her tiara into the ball. It exploded into a million little sparkles, like glitter, glowing and falling onto the sleeping victims. It absorbed into their skin, confirming at least that it was being reabsorbed. The sleepers started to stir.

“We should detransform before everyone wakes up,” Venus said, letting her transformation fall. The others followed suit. Usagi squealed when she saw Jupiter’s identity.

Makoto, was just as excited, clasping Usagi’s shoulder and saying, ”Girl, I thought you were awesome before I found out you were a superhero.”

“And looks like we’ll be doing this together,” Usagi said, her enthusiasm hard to contain. Finally, she felt a connection to a fellow Senshi. Maybe it was just that of being a newbie. Or perhaps it was that Makoto also thought Tuxedo Kamen was hot. Either way, she was happy to finally have someone to share everything with.

Usagi was about to tell Makoto this when someone burst through the door. Mamoru practically flew towards Usagi, leaving several crewmen and medics in his wake. He swept her off her feet when he reached her.

“Oh thank god,” he said, his face buried in the crook of her neck, kissing any piece of exposed skin he could. “You’re all right.”

“I’m fine,” she said. “I was in the bathroom. Missed all the action.”

“When I saw the people in the club, I...” he said. “I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”

Usagi’s heart melted. If Mamoru had been on that floor too, she would be equally panicked. But, something tickled her Senshi Spidey Sense about his comment.

“I’m fine,” she whispered. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I love you,” he whispered back. For a moment, Usagi was struck. She pulled away, looking into his eyes. The words resounded in her ears. Could it be true?

She’d felt the urge to say the words to him before but always refrained. They were, after all, still early in their relationship. Yet, she’d never been so sure of her feelings before. She was sure that it was oozing out of their pores.

Without a doubt, something she felt in her bones, she answered, “I love you too.”

She felt him inhale and realized he’d been holding his breath. His embrace tightened in relief. He didn’t move to kiss her, but that didn’t undercut the sweetness of the confession. In fact, it made it more real.

Perhaps, being a Senshi made her feel like these moments mattered more, and it was not better to leave things unsaid. Or perhaps it had just taken a decade for the confession. Either way, her heart sang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t believe we’re already at the end of the boat arc! Eeek! I did not get a chance to run this by my beta, because life has been hectic, so I’m sorry for any errors. I no longer have a posting buffer. HOWEVER, I’ve gone 6 months of posting regularly, and I’m not going to give up! I still have tons of material drafted, so the story should keep coming (for a little while longer anyway).  
> I want to do a super special thanks to all my readers, but especially Ghost Man for your running commentary review of every chapter. It really made my week.
> 
> mali86, gaealynn, Allie248, and The_Rogue_Girl, Thank you thank you thank you for leaving reviews! I really, truly appreciate them.
> 
> And as always, a super special thanks to my hubby, for being my first reader and supporting me through this crazy process.


	14. Interlude: Usagi Konmaris Her Apartment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Interlude where Usagi takes joy in tidying up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shot update this week. This isn’t really a chapter, but more of an interlude. Summer has been exceptionally busy for me, and I’ve fallen behind on all my projects. (I’m participating in the Senshi/Shitennou reverse bang, and that project has taken some of my writing time. But the story is going to be amazing!) I didn’t want to miss an update, and I had this little snippet tucked away for a rainy day. Hopefully, I’ll be back in two weeks with a big update! My next chapter is monstrously long for some reason.
> 
> I want to say thank you to everyone who reads and reviews. Reviews are the highlight of my day. I treasure each and everyone one of them.
> 
> A super special thanks to Smokingbomber for beta reading and to my husband for encouraging and being the best support a gal could ask for.

Sadly, a youma attack meant an abrupt return to port. The boat’s medics spent all night checking and doublechecking vitals, but they weren’t equipped for such a large number of patients. Minako, Rei, and Makoto found a small booth near an active bar to discuss Makoto’s new position on the team, while Usagi snuck back to her room with Mamoru. Much to Usagi's dismay - as if she'd actually been _sleeping_ , the ship reached port at roughly four in the morning.

Minako graciously called practice off for the rest of the weekend since their mini-vacation had been ruined; they could at least still enjoy the time. Makoto would join them the following week for training, and Usagi was expected to be there too.

As the weekend drew to a close, Usagi found herself at home and with spare time on her hands. This meant she could focus on more important things.

From her perch on the kitchen sink, Luna observed as Usagi piled all her clothes on her bed. The cat twitched with a pang of disgust as the blonde mixed her clean clothes, very dirty clothes, and eh-probably-have-a-few-more-wears clothes all together in the pile.

“What, pray tell, are you doing?” Luna asked.

“I’m feeling inspired!” Usagi said. “I binged half of _Tidying Up with Marie Kondo_ with Mamoru this weekend!”

“I’m not entirely sure you’re speaking Japanese because I only understand half the words coming out of your mouth,” Luna said.

Usagi tied the bottom of her pigtails into her buns to prevent herself from tripping on her hair. “Konmari, Luna. I’m going to Konmari.”

“I’m not sure that's a verb, Usagi.”

“I’m working less, and I need something to do. So it seems the perfect time to tidy!”

“You could, you know, train for battle,” Luna added.

“What you don’t seem to understand is that tidying up your space can tidy up your soul,” Usagi lectured as she tied on an apron. “And a better soul is the key to a better warrior.”

“And this wouldn’t have anything to do with Mamoru teasing you for having a messy apartment?”

“My soul, Luna. _My. Soul._ ”

Usagi looked exasperated as she surveyed the pile of clothing now on her bed. Shirts, skirts, dresses, pants, socks, aprons. Every piece of wearable clothing was piled there, and it was nearly over her head. She gathered her resolve and dragged her laundry hamper closer, then set out several bags to pack up unwanted clothes. With a nod, she reached a hand out to the pile, then paused.

“That’s a really big pile,” she commented, hand hovering, fingers twitching towards a potential first item.

“That's the point,” Luna said.

“Are you just going to sit there and watch, or are you going to help me?” Usagi asked indignantly.

“I don’t see how. I can’t exactly tell you what sparks joy,” said Luna.

Usagi gasped. “I knew it! You did understand me! You lying...cat.”

Luna gave her a strange look.

“It seemed like bitch wasn’t really appropriate since you’re a cat.”

Luna scowled. “Maybe I should spend the day somewhere else.”

“No! Don’t leave me alone! I need someone to go through this journey with me!”

Luna rolled her eyes, but sat back down.

Usagi took a deep breath, taking the top article of clothing. It was a summer top, white and sleeveless. She’d gotten it for only 300 yen.

“Ooo, this one was a good sale,” Usagi noted, pleased all over again. “Yup. That definitely sparks joy.” She tossed it on the floor.

“Wait, you aren’t going to put it away?” Luna asked.

“Following the process exactly is important Luna!”

Luna sighed.

Next, she picked up a blue skirt. “Ooo! I love this skirt! It has pockets!”

And so it continued for several hours until all of Usagi’s clothes were sorted into the clean-I-think pile on the floor, definitely dirty laundry hamper (plus the surrounding area since the hamper was too small), and the single, small donation bag.

Usagi smiled proudly.

Luna pawed the donation bag. “Really, you could only find… seven things to donate?”

“What can I say, Luna? I surround myself with joy,” she answered, flopping down on the bed. Usagi picked up the remote and clicked on the Amazon streaming app.

“Now what are you doing?” Luna said. “Your place is still a mess! Aren’t you going to at least put away all the clean clothes?”

“I need a reward first. And Mamoru fixed it so I can watch his Game of Thrones,” she said, snuggling into the comforter on her bed.

Luna stood there agape, then shook her head. 

It wasn’t long before Usagi had fallen asleep. Tidying was, after all, hard work. Seeing the sleeping Senshi of the Moon, surrounded by more articles of clothing then she could possibly wear, Luna smiled.

She curled up next to the sleeping woman and stole the remote. Luna was at least three episodes ahead, and Usagi wouldn’t notice if someone watched them before her.


	15. The Bad Guys Are on Instagram?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi finally learns something at practice, has a bright idea, and a dream.

The week since returning from the cruise had been quiet. With no youma attacks and a semi-regular work schedule as Crown geared up to reopen, Usagi almost remembered what normal life was like. Only the 6 am training sessions reminded her that everything had changed. (Minako was still insistent on that ridiculous start time.)

At 6:20 am on Thursday, Usagi sauntered upward on the endless steps of Cherry Hill Shrine, sipping on a Sakura Frappuccino (one of the only coffee beverages she could handle) and scrolling through her Instagram. She was already late, so there was no point in stressing even more. Because of her distraction, she managed to trip on the top step and narrowly avoided a ball yeeted at her head.

“See what I mean? How does she do it?” Rei the ball thrower wondered aloud. “She manages to always conveniently fall.”

“Did you just throw a baseball at my head?” Usagi demanded with righteous indignation.

“Only because you’re late,” Rei responded. “Besides, it missed.”

“Hmm, that's really interesting,” Makoto said. “She tripped over her own feet fist-pumping on the ship if I remember right. I thought it was on purpose.”

“Mako-chan! You’re finally here!” Usagi screeched in glee, then spun toward Minako to continue, “I’m sure you were so busy showing her the ropes you didn’t even miss little ole me.”

“Actually, Makoto has been teaching me a few things,” Minako said, dusting off her hands.

Usagi’s face fell. “Damnit.”

“I was hoping maybe she’d have better luck with you than we did,” Minako continued.

Usagi groaned. A small, temporary training ring had been erected in the courtyard so as to avoid bothering any early morning visitors.

“What _are_ you drinking?” Rei asked, noticing the beverage in her hand.

“Coffee,” Usagi answered.

“That is not coffee,” Rei said flatly. “Coffee is not… pink.”

“Sakura coffee is,” Usagi retorted, then held the cup out the Rei. “Wanna taste?”

“Back on task, you two,” Minako instructed, clapping her hands for emphasis. “Makoto, let’s see what you can show Usagi.”

Usagi dragged her feet. She set her drink beside Rei, then joined Makoto.

“Okay,” Makoto started. “Hit me with your best shot.”

Usagi just stared at her. “Um…”

Makoto stared back. “You don’t usually start the engagement, do you.”

Usagi shrugged. “No?”

“Okay, then try not to get hit,” Makoto told her, then started swinging at her.

Usagi squealed and took a step back to avoid Makoto’s punch. As she did so, she tripped, missing Makoto’s roundhouse kick. 

Makoto offered Usagi a hand up as she complimented, “That was actually pretty good."

“Really? Because I thought it was pretty clumsy,” Usagi replied.

“Well, it was that too,” Makoto admitted. “But, from what I’ve gathered, you’re not great at classic fighting. So, we need to use your strengths to our advantage.”

“So, we just bank on her being clumsy?” Rei asked.

“Harness her natural defensiveness,” Minako obverved.

“Exactly,” Makoto agreed with them, then looked back at Usagi. “Before we can teach you to punch, we need to teach you how to fall.”

“I thought I was already pretty good at that,” Usagi grumbled.

“Well, at hitting the ground, sure. But, falling has a lot of wasted energy. If you can harness it, you can push it back at your enemies. Or at least not hurt yourself when falling,” Makoto explained.

“That sounded either very zen or very sciencey. I’m not sure which one,” said Usagi, eyeing her.

Makoto laughed. “Maybe a bit of both?”

So the morning continued with Makoto teaching Usagi how to fall, how to recognize when she was going down, and how to roll out of a fall. Momentum, core muscles, and balance were key. Usagi had at least two of those three necessary skills. After an hour or so, Usagi had vastly improved in the art of falling. In fact, it almost seemed like dodging.

Makoto decided it was time for a break, so the girls went inside to relax. Rei brewed tea and brought snacks (fruit, of course), while Makoto and Minako discussed a training schedule and Usagi played on her phone.

“So,” Minako started. “On to business.”

Usagi groaned all over again.

“Our first priority is finding the remaining Sailor Senshi: Sailor Mercury,” Minako summarized. “She’s the brains of the team, and honestly, we could really use her.”

“So there are five of us in total?” Makoto asked.

Minako nodded and continued, “Next, Rei, have you had any luck in locating any of the crystal shards?”

Rei shook her head. “There’s a strong magic that protects them, like there is for us. Even with the sacred fire, my abilities aren't strong enough to locate them,” she explained.

With a nod, Minako continued, “Onto general Dark Kingdom activity. Luna?”

The cat looked far too cozy on her pillow. She shook her head. “Since the cruise, it appears that the Dark Kingdom has been keeping a relatively low profile.”

“Or- we’ve gotten worse at detecting them,” Rei said, scowling.

“Have they always been super active?” Makoto asked.

Minako shrugged. “Their activity ebbs and flows. It really just depends on whatever plan they’re working on at any given time.”

“Well, I have a lead,” Usagi offered.

Rei rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised? You attract magical jerkwads almost as much as your boss does.”

“Hey!” Usagi protested. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“What did you find, Usagi-chan?” Luna prodded.

Flipping her phone around for everyone to see, Usagi showed her Insta feed. “So, there have been reports of a haunted house on Isshiki Beach. See?”

Sure enough, they saw picture after picture of a large mansion located just up a rocky bit of shoreline. It was called Pension Adams, and all the photos were tagged #HauntedBeach.

“It’s even got its own hashtag and everything!” Usagi preened.

“I don’t think the Dark Kingdom shows up on Instagram,” Minako said.

“I thought the same thing too! But the cruise totally has an Insta presence,” Usagi defended.

“A haunting doesn’t mean Dark Kingdom activity though,” said Minako.

Rei eyed Usagi suspiciously then added, “Also, how is this not a ploy to go to the beach?”

“The beach is a bonus,” Usagi chirpped.

“What are you proposing, Usagi?” Luna asked as the voice of reason.

“Look, Isshiki Beach is only a couple hours away,” explained Usagi, still defensive. “We could just make a day trip out there. Check it out, then, if it turns out to be a bust, play at the beach, or if it’s not a bust, stop a youma! I call this a win-win scenario.”

“We literally just got back from vacation less than a week ago,” Rei said in disbelief.

“An interrupted vacation. So we totally owe this beach trip to ourselves,” Usagi retorted.

“Is there anything besides the haunting that has lead you to believe this is some Dark Kingdom ploy?” Makoto asked. “Hashtags seem super obvious for a nefarious plot.”

“Dude, how many of the plots have been discreet like _at all_? Like, really, the Dark Kingdom is bullshit at gathering energy,” Usagi said. “Anyway, like three influencers were hospitalized after visiting for fatigue.”

“Now that, is something to note,” Luna said. “Usagi has a point. We maybe should check it out.”

“Okay then,” Minako said. “Usagi and I will go to this mansion and investigate.”

“You and me?” Usagi said. “Just the two of us?”

“Luna and Artemis as well,” Minako added.

“What about Rei? She’s so good at feeling for energy…” Usagi said.

“Well, some of us have to work, you know,” Rei said. “I’m still making up for the cruise we didn’t take.”

“Mako? What if it is a monster, and we need back up?” Usagi continued.

“I’m pretty backed up on orders,” Makoto said, rubbing the back of her head, “but I could try to find some time…”

“We won’t engage if it _is_ a ploy,” Minako said. “We’re just there to investigate. Besides, I did this on my own for a long time. Artemis and I have a knack for these things.”

Usagi sighed and chanted to herself that it was still the beach.

“So, let’s leave now,” Minako said.

“What! Now? I don’t even have a swimsuit!” Usagi pleaded.

“But you said this wasn’t about the beach,” Minako teased.

Usagi groaned before burying her head in her arms on the table.

^^^  
That night, Usagi had the strangest dream.

She had always had strange dreams. Those had started long before she became Sailor Moon. Recently, they had intensified, as if being Sailor Moon channeled them better. Sometimes, it felt as if she were dreaming visions of a life long lost..

She woke with a start, gripping her chest. Her heart hurt from some phantom memory she couldn’t place.

“I’m sorry,” said a voice in the darkness.

Usagi whipped her head around to see a strange woman poised on the edge of a chair, looking completely out of place amongst the laundry piled in beside her and Mamoru’s overnight bag at her feet. The woman was beautiful, though a little hazy. Ghostly and ethereal, she wore a formal sleeveless white dress, almost like a western wedding gown. Her hair was long and silver, and done exactly as Usagi did her own. The woman placed her hands in her lap and smiled at Usagi.

Usagi blinked. Hard. Then looked beside her to see Mamoru still deeply asleep.

“No need to wake him,” the woman told her gently. “This is... a dream, of sorts.”

“This is a weird dream then,” Usagi said.

The woman laughed, and it was like bells. A cloud shifted in the sky, allowing moonlight to shine in through the window. The woman turned her head towards the light, and Usagi could see she wasn’t fully there. She was translucent, thought the moonlight seemed to make her more tangible.

“Who are you?” Usagi asked.

The woman looked toward the floor with a sad smile. “I am what’s left of Queen Serenity.”

“Queen Serenity,” Usagi repeated, the name both profoundly familiar and foreign on her lips.

“I don’t have much time, but I came to bring you this.”

Queen Serenity held something in her hands, an offering of a precious heirloom. Usagi stepped out of bed and padded over. The floor was cool beneath her feet, and it made everything feel less dreamlike. She realized she should probably be afraid. This was a ghost and a dream, but, there was something familiar about this queen. Something like home.

Usagi took the item from the ghost woman. It was about the size of a flashlight, and a stick with a pink handle. A crescent moon was attached to the top. A golden inlay similar to her transformation brooch was just below the crescent head. Power thrummed through it.

“You’re going to need that in the coming days,” the Queen said. “You have the unique ability to save those trapped by the dark energy. You can heal and _rescue_. Restoration over destruction. You must remember that. My only regret is that I couldn’t get this to you sooner.”

Usagi held the wand to her heart and blinked. Exhaustion was settling in; the edges of her vision were going black. The dream was fading. Usagi stumbled back to her bed.

The Queen stood and walked over to Mamoru. She gazed down at him fondly. “I’m glad you found him,” she said. “I’m sorry I never told you...”

Usagi’s phone chimed, and she sat up in bed. Mamoru mumbled and rolled over. She rubbed her eyes, looking to where the dream ghost had been seated. Her laundry (and Mamo-chan’s bag) lay undisturbed. What a strange dream. Also, who the hell was texting her this early? 

As she reached for her phone on the nightstand, something fell to the ground. Usagi looked down and saw the pink and gold crescent wand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I apologize for this chapter being on the shorter size. This bridge chapter spiraled out of control, and my beta recommended making this the stopping point in order for the final pass to be more manageable.
> 
> I want to do a shout out to all my reviewers: Aster_of_middle_earth, The_Rogue_Girl, Jess, and mali86 (a super special thank you for sticking with me so long!).
> 
> The biggest thank you to Smokingbomber for beta-reading, and thanks to my hubby who wanted my attention and fell asleep while waiting for me to post this chapter and won’t hold it against me.


	16. #HauntedHouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is something going on at the Pensive Adams!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y’all, please forgive me. Real life has me slammed, and I’m so behind on my writing goals. So I’m breaking this chapter up into yet another shorter chapter. Hopefully, now that summer is drawing to a close, I can focus on getting ahead again and be back to my usual chapter lengths.
> 
> Thank you to all my reviewers. You brighten my day in ways I can’t describe. You mean so much to me.
> 
> Finally, a special thanks to my hubby for distracting Uncle Bob so I could get this chapter finished.

Minako had acquiesced to waiting until Friday to investigate. They were to meet at the train station at the designated training time. Usagi felt this was, much like Minako's awkwardly-timed text, unnecessarily early. She decided she would sleep on the train.

She stumbled onto the platform only fifteen (or so) minutes late. Out of breath and carrying Luna in her beach tote, she rested beside an ice cream vending machine. She would be purchasing some of that before they left. Taking a moment to compose herself, she observed Minako.

Minako wore a classy, sage green dress with muted red shoes and her signature red bow. Beside her was a large wicker tote. She sat on a bench staring at the bustle and absently petting Artemis in her lap.

Of course, Minako would be classy even when waiting. Usagi would have been playing a phone game if roles were reversed. However, she was never early, so that would not happen in any universe. Pulling out a 500 yen coin, she bought herself an ice cream cone (strawberry) and one for Minako as well (vanilla). She walked to the bench, ice cream outstretched like a peace flag.

Minako smiled and took the cone from Usagi. Silently, Usagi sat next to her.

"The next train gets here in seven minutes," Minako stated.

They ate their ice cream in silence while watching businessmen and women going about their busy morning. Usagi disposed of their trash once they finished their cones.

The air between them was so tense you could cut it with a knife. Usagi sighed. The girls had finally started to warm to each other. Then again, Usagi hadn't been alone with Minako since the ex-fiance bombshell dropped.

"So…" Usagi said. She so desperately wanted to pry for details. She'd done it with Mamoru. But like most things, he was fairly terse on the subject. A man of words he was not.

Also, she'd broken a cardinal girl sin. She was sleeping with the ex. To be fair, she didn't know he was the ex until it was too late… She needed something, anything, to break this silence.

"So, I think I might have dreamed this into existence," Usagi said before reaching into her bag and pulling out the Crescent Wand.

"What?" That got Minako's attention. Artemis also looked closely at the wand. Usagi handed it over. "What do you mean you dreamed it?"

"It's a little hazy now," Usagi continued. "But like, I dreamt I woke up in my apartment, and there was this ghost woman, and she gave me this."

"Ghost woman?" Minako inquired.

Usagi furrowed her brow. "Yeah, she was like, pretty, and had silver hair," she continued. Yet, the more she pushed for the details of the dream, the more it faded.

"It couldn't be…" Minako said as she turned the wand over in her hand. It almost seemed like a toy. Closing her eyes, she tried to feel the power. But there was no warmth. No surge. This wasn't a weapon meant for her. She handed the wand back to Usagi with a sad smile.

"Looks like you've got a weapon," Minako said.

"A weapon? Me?" Usagi asked in disbelief. "But what does it do?"

Minako shrugged. "I guess we'll find out."

^^^

Usagi did sleep on the train. So she felt quite rested when they finally exited. The sun was shining. The air was warm. Perfect weather for a beach outing. Minako let Usagi lead the way, which in hindsight, was not the best idea.

Hence, they found themselves wandering in a forest. Usagi stared at her phone and wished for better reception. Minako watched on, smugly.

"Do you need some help?" Minako asked.

"There's no cell service," Usagi said. "So, um, the map won't load."

"You didn't look this place up before we got here, did you?" Minako teased.

"I did it! Just, maps are not my strong suit," Usagi lamented.

"Well, why don't you two stay on this path," Luna suggested. "Artemis and I will scout ahead. See if we can find some better directions."

"Wait!" Usagi cried as the two cats started off down the path. Luna turned back, her head cocked.

Usagi fumbled around her bag and produced a harness with a little pouch on the back.

"What, pray tell, is that?" Luna said.

"Well, in case we get separated, you can carry my cell phone, so we can get back in touch with each other!" Usagi said proudly.

Luna blinked. Artemis quirked an eyebrow. Minako opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again.

"I am not wearing that thing," Luna said.

"Reason number 468 on why we need communicators," Usagi stated. "Then Luna wouldn't have to wear a ridiculous harness."

"I'll just put your phone in my subspace pocket," Luna said.

"A what now?"

Minako giggled. "Her subspace pocket. It's a small dimensional pocket. Luna stores things like the transformation pens until she finds us," she explained. "We all have one."

"Wait, are you saying that I have an interdimensional storage purse? AND NO ONE BOTHERED TO TELL ME?" Usagi exclaimed.

Minako nodded.

"Then why have I been lugging around this bottle of Rose the whole time! Ugh, you people are so bad at explaining the perks of being a superhero!"

With that settled, Usagi took the harness back, and Luna and Artemis darted off into the trees.

"We do need to invest in a phone for Luna," Usagi said, as they continued walking.

"Perhaps you're right," Minako said. "As we expand, we do need better communication."

"Reason 469 for communicators."

"We are not getting communicators."

The darkening sky let out a rumble, and Usagi shrieked. Clutching her tote to her chest while squeezing her eyes shut, she silently counted to ten in an attempt to calm herself. Minako watched on, curiously.

"We do need to find cover, and soon," Minako said. Usagi nodded in agreement.

The rain began to fall. They picked up their walking pace, Usagi moving faster than Minako had considered her capable of. Usagi, however, was on the verge of full panic mode. So she didn't notice the other person coming from a less-traveled path until she crashed into her.

Thunder rumbled. Usagi screamed as if spiders were crawling over her.

"I'm so sorry!" the girl mumbled. She couldn't be much older than fourteen with short brown hair and ghostly purple eyes.

Realizing that she wasn't a monster, Usagi clung to the strange girl as another crash of thunder echoed through the sky. The rain intensified.

"Oh!" The girl exclaimed. "You're afraid of the storm!"

"I'm so sorry for my friend," Minako apologized, trying to pull Usagi away from the teenager. "I don't know what's gotten into her."

Usagi melded over to Minako, gripping Minako's arm and burying her face in her armpit.

"It's okay!" the girl said. "I'm Sakiko, and my family owns the Pensive at the end of the path. Follow me, and we can at least get out of this rain!"

Sakiko lead the way, and Minako dragged Usagi through the rain

^^^  
The Pension Adams was a Western Gothic mansion built sometime after WWII by a rich gajin. The white paint had a grey tint to it, giving the place a slightly neglected look. Usagi realized that many of the images she’d seen on Instagram had no filters. That spooky look was all-natural. She shivered, but not from the rain.

“It’s so creepy,” Usagi whispered.

Sakiko lead them right up to the door which flew open as they approached. In the doorway, three figures greeted the young girl. None of the people looked quite human. Thunder clapped, and Usagi yelped.

“Youma!” she squealed.

Minako sighed and held the woman wrapped around her.

“Usagi,” Minako whispered. “They’re costumes. Look, it’s just a vampire, wolfman, and Frankenstein. This is a theme hotel.”

Still perched on Minako, Usagi stared at the figures. Sakiko grinned back at her. Minako was right. As she looked at the monsters in the doorway, they seemed less monstrous and more costumed. The tall, slightly pale vampire woman’s neck was flesh-toned. The wolfman’s sideburns peeled up at the edges. Frankenstein was just a guy with a very gnarly scar that had stitches glued on.

“Who are your friends, Ms. Sakiko?” the pale vampire lady asked.

“Oh! Some tourists who got lost in the woods,” Sakiko explained. “I lead them here so they could get out of the rain.”

“Well, perhaps they would like to come in for lunch at our cafe?” the vampire lady continued.

At that prompt, Usagi’s stomach growled loudly.

“That sounds excellent,” Minako said, trying to pry Usagi off her.

“Come in, then,” the three monsters said in unison.

Sakiko giggled as Minako dragged Usagi behind her. Her giggle was cut short by a loud crash of thunder, and a booming voice.

“SAKIKO.”

At the top of the stairs, an imposing man called down to the teenager. Lightning cast a hard shadow over his already harsh features. Usagi screamed again before jumping onto Minako’s back.

“Who is he supposed to be?” Usagi whispered into Minako’s ear.

“I don’t know,” Minako grumbled.

“Just where were you? Get over here,” the man instructed.

Sakiko hung her head. “Yes, father,” she answered. “Right away.”

The girl waved a hasty goodbye and hurried over to her father. Together, they walked up the stairs, engaged in a conversation no one else could hear.

Everyone stared for a moment, watching the girl and her father retreat. Usagi tightened her grip around Minako as if somehow the strange man could pull her friend away as well. As they disappeared upstairs, Usagi’s stomach growled.

“Yes,” said the wolfman. “Follow me to the dining room.”

^^^  
Usagi and Minako were seated at the end of a large banquet table. Menus in the shape of coffins were presented to them. Usagi perused the menu.

“Everything looks so tasty!”

“Tough a touch morbid,” Minako said with a small frown.

“And expensive,” Usagi added, scrunching her nose at the thousand-plus yen price tags.

“Theme cafes often are,” Minako said with a smile. “But I’ll cover the bill. It’s official business after all.”

Usagi smiled and proceeded to order squid ink pasta, a piece of pizza in the shape of a cross, some sort of chicken that would be roasted tableside, a pastry in the shape of a coffin, and some sort of blood sangria cocktail. Minako ordered a salad.

“Oh! We should probably text Luna and let her know where we are,” Usagi suggested once the monster hosts were out of earshot.

Minako shrugged. “I’m sure she and Artemis are nearby.”

“Yeah, but it would be the considerate thing to do,” Usagi said. She didn’t go into more detail because Frankenstein rolled a squeaky cart in. Usagi smiled with delight as the first plate was put in front of her.

“It smells so good!” Usagi nearly moaned. She patted her pockets and frowned. “Minako, can I borrow your phone?”

“What for?”

“I need to take a photo of all the yumminess!”

Rolling her eyes, Minako handed over her phone. With a smile, Usagi took the camera and started turning her plate to get the best angles. Minako shook her head.

Usagi just had her angle perfect when an eerie moaning echoed through the dining area. Usagi clicked the picture and tensed.

“What was that?” Usagi whispered.

“Probably just an atmosphere…” Minako started, but Frankenstein was trembling behind Usagi. Minako stood up from the table and followed Frankenstein’s gaze into the hall. Usagi shrieked upon seeing a fearful Frankenstein and hid under the table.

In the hallway, Minako saw the Wolfman and Vampirina cowering as an ethereal woman howled before them. She was more cloud than woman, but her face was clear. It was in pain. She looked at Minako, then charged.

Minako was hit by a blast of cold air, knocking her backward, and the ghost disappeared. Usagi screamed from the dining room while the Pension employees pressed against the walls, terrified. Minako gaped before a slow smile crept across her face. As she stood, she understood two things. Something was definitely haunting the Pensive Adams, but it wasn’t a youma.

Minako walked back into the dining room and sat down. She leaned over so she could see Usagi under the table.

“How do you feel about spending the night out here?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”


	17. Ghost Busted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi and Minako find the source of the mysterious happenings at Pensive Adams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I start to feel like I’m catching up, I look at the workload ahead and cringe. However, I’ve been updating regularly for 8 months! And now I’m determined to keep to this schedule. (It’s inspiring me to push forward.) The next arc is the Embassy Ball (finally!). I’m also hitting the revision train hard with my Senshi/Shittenou Reverse Mini Bang Piece (it’s gonna be amazing y’all).
> 
> Also, since I’ve been so slammed, I never really got to take a second to talk about my inspiration for this mini-arc. I didn’t watch the episode “The Summer, the Beach, Youth and Ghosts” until just a few years ago. Growing up on the DiC dub meant this episode was totally cut. And honestly, when I first saw it, I was fascinated by it. It’s also pretty much non-existent in fanfiction. So, when I was looking for a narrative bridge between the boat arc and the upcoming action heavy Embassy Ball, I thought this would be fun to explore.
> 
> Thank you MelissaMoonlight, mali86, RogueNyte22, and xxxLeanniexxx for the reviews! Your comments give me all the warm fuzzies.
> 
> Thank you ElvisVF101 for that fantastic ghostly insult. I had tried to figure out how to work a Nightvale Glow Cloud reference in, but, it just wasn’t gelling.
> 
> Thank you to the awesome Smoking Bomber for beat-reading. I’m glad this chapter got a few chuckles out of you.
> 
> And as always, thank you so much to my loving husband for supporting me through this epic writing endeavor.

They shared a room. The walls were hunter green with a faded red carpet. There were two western double beds, a green wingback chair, and a small table near the window. There was no TV, but it did have a surprisingly large bathroom. It wasn’t the worst place she’d ever stayed in.

Minako cracked the window open for Luna and Artemis, while Usagi talked on her phone to Mamoru. She stared out over the dark beach and pretended not to listen in.

“No, no, we’re fine, Mamo-chan. Don’t come out here. The weather is terrible! It’s the only reason we’re staying the night anyway,” Usagi explained again. “I know. I miss you too.” She giggled and collapsed onto the bed, the pillow thwarting Minako’s eavesdropping.

Mamoru had not been much of a phone guy with _her_. Not the long conversations into the middle of the night filled with soft promises and secret smiles, but rather the quick update, “talk to you tomorrow” type. So of course, Usagi had been on the phone with him for at least twenty minutes, and Minako had no bitter feelings what so ever. She flopped into the wingback. It’s not like Minako was much of a phone girl anyway. 

Luna was the first to appear in the open window. Like a little black ghost, she silently leaped into their room bouncing from the table to the floor. Artemis followed. They glanced towards Usagi, who was talking into her pillow like a teenager, before giving Minako their undivided attention.

“Anything to report?” Minako asked, grateful for the distraction.

Artemis shook his head. “It appears quiet here. There aren't many guests. Just you girls, an older man and his daughter, plus the caretakers.”

“The teenager?” Minako asked.

Artemis nodded. “Yes. They appear to be staying on some sort of extended stay. They’re in one of the fancier guest rooms on the other side of the pension. It appears quite lived in.”

“Hmm,” Minako pondered. “That _is_ interesting.”

“We also scanned for any trace of the Dark Kingdom but found nothing. There doesn’t appear to be anything of note here,” Luna concluded. “Usagi’s haunted house appears to just be a tourist draw.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Minako replied. “I saw a ghost at dinner.”

“A ghost?” Luna asked in a small voice. “A real ghost?”

“Well, something very ghost-like,” Minako continued.

“Do you think it’s the Dark Kingdom?” Artemis asked. “I can double check out scans.”

Minako shrugged. “No need. Maybe it’s just time for some old-fashioned investigating.”

Usagi hung up the phone, rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling with a grin. 

_Finally_. “Good,” Minako said. “You’re done.” She all but jumped up from her chair.

Usagi propped herself up on her elbow. “So?”

“We have things to investigate,” Minako said.

Usagi groaned. “Did I mention I hate ghosts? And dentists?”

“Nope. Don’t care. Let’s Nancy Drew this shit!” Minako grabbed Usagi’s hand. The Senshi of the Moon whined as was hauled by the wrist to the door.

Minako stuck her head out into the hallway, looking both ways to see if anything was afoot. The hallway was dark but empty. She stepped out, carefully, in order to keep quiet. _Sneak sneak sneak_.

Usagi followed, immediately stepping on a creaky floorboard.

“YAGH!” she screamed.

Minako refrained from shooting a dirty look over her shoulder, so instead, she looked at the ceiling. Maybe she should have left Usagi in the room instead of the cats. They continued creeping down the hallway. Dark curtains, striped wallpaper, and European paintings lined the walls. There were electric sconces every few feet with flickering LED lights to create atmosphere. At some point, Usagi pulled out her phone and turned the flashlight on. Minako rolled her eyes. The hallway was dim, but certainly not dark enough for a flashlight. Though, the new light did reveal that the place was in need of a good dusting.

“So,” Usagi started, breaking into the tension that was created by more than just a Scooby-Doo mansion. “Do you think it’s a youma?”

Minako shook her head. Ten years of experience gave her a lot of insight into Dark Kingdom ploys, and this didn’t feel like one of them. Plus, she had Luna and Artemis's intel as confirmation. 

“I don’t think so,” she said, “but something is definitely up.”

Usagi groaned, “Maybe it’s really a ghost.”

“That would be something,” Minako said. “I’ve never actually seen a real ghost.”

Usagi smiled at her. “It’s nice to think that not all magic is evil Dark Kingdom shenanigans.” 

Minako couldn’t stop the smile tickling the corners of her mouth. It was nice. Usagi had an easiness that was infectious, even though the first Senshi tried to resist it. No wonder the pig-tailed blonde had charmed the other Senshi.

The girls continued to lurk through the hallways. The Pensive probably had about fifteen or so rooms suitable for guests in the main building, and maybe eight more guest rooms renovated from the auxiliary servants quarters. Usagi took pictures with her phone of things she found interesting as she walked.

Minako resisted the urge to cringe at each strobe of the phone’s flash. She didn’t conceal enough because Usagi flushed and explained, “Ghosts sometimes show up on film. Plus, they’re great for my Instagram.”

Even with Usagi’s antics, being the only guests in the main house was certainly adding to the eerie feeling. Most of the guest rooms were locked, so they couldn’t actually investigate in depth. Usagi seemed to get increasingly anxious as they explored.

“So,” Usagi said, trying to get her camera to focus in the low light on an intricately carved library table. “Are you, um, okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” Minako responded.

Usagi’s phone clicked with the camera noise and no flash. She made a face and tapped the screen to focus again.

“Because it’s kinda awkward? Between us? And um, Mamoru? I didn’t know that he was your...,” she stammered. “He never told me anything. Certainly not that he was ever engaged… And you didn’t say names…”

Minako’s stomach curled with something bitter as Usagi rambled. She didn’t want to talk about this. “Would that have stopped you?” she blurted out.

“What?”

“Would that have stopped you from dating Mamoru if you’d known about us?” Minako said.

Usagi chewed on her lip. Something darkened in her eyes as worked through the hypotheticals. “I don’t know.”

Minako felt that bitterness again, like a weight in her diaphragm. She was the Senshi of Love, once, long ago. She should be happy for her friend, happy for this man she used to love. Besides, what was she really jealous of?

“You’ve known him longer than I have,” Minako said with a shrug. “It doesn’t matter. You’re with him now. Enjoy it while you can.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“That Senshi don’t get happy endings,” Minako said before walking down the hallway and leaving Usagi behind.

XXX

Usagi was alone in a creepy hallway with only ghosts and her thoughts.

“Damnit,” she mumbled to herself. She pressed her knuckles to her temples and closed her eyes.

She couldn’t do anything right with Minako. Here was her childhood idol. Sailor V! The girl who fought against the darkness in the name of beauty and love! How many times growing up did she wish she could be in V’s shoes? That she was meant for something greater, even though she was terrible at seemingly everything. She’d gotten to live a normal life, and while it had been nice, she wanted something… more. And here she was, actually living that dream. She was a Sailor Senshi, worked at an arcade (which outside of being a professional eater was her dream job), and had the hottest man she’d ever met head over heels for her! So, why did it feel like life sucked?

Maybe because she was also stuck in a haunted mansion with a woman she did nothing but disappoint. She may have dreamed of being a superhero, but that didn’t mean she was going to be a perfect one. Well, damn it, she wasn’t going to disappoint today. She was gonna find this ghost! Detective Usagi to the rescue!

Feeling determined, she started charging through the house. Instagram be damned. She wasn’t going to get frightened at strange shadows, or noisy floorboards, or screaming women. Wait, screaming women?

Usagi rushed to the first window she saw. Looking out she saw the crashing ocean, black water breaking against a rocky cliff and small sandy beach. Well, no screaming women there. She rushed to the opposite side of the hallway. This view was of the interior courtyard between the main house and renovated servants house. There she saw the vampire woman cowering before a giant cloud with a face.

Ghost.

Heartbeat in her ears, Usagi stepped away from the window. A real, live (ish) ghost, and a real live woman in trouble. She’d faced monsters before, but this was more terrifying. Youma had rules and motives. Ghosts were supposed to be make-believe. Yet, she was a sailor senshi. She didn’t have the luxury of childhood fears. Steeling herself, she rushed towards the sound (and didn’t fall down any stairs or trip over any carpet corners on).

Brisk air chilled Usagi as she burst from the house. It was unseasonably cold, and that was probably because of the giant glowing cloud. From the window, the ghost had seemed manageable, but outside, it felt as if the effigy was as large as the courtyard. Twisting tendrils shifted in swirls and shapes around a screaming face. The agony of the mist broke Usagi’s heart. Any fear she had was replaced with the need to help her.

A piece of the ghost formed like a tentacle and lashed out at the vampire woman cowering on the ground. She lifted one arm to shield herself.

“Over here you unwashed floating sheet!” Usagi hollered, distracting the being from landing its blow. The face sneered at her, then screamed.

“Holy shit!” Usagi exclaimed, ducking. The scream of the ghost knocked several pieces of patio furniture around. She dodged as a chair collided with the doorframe she stood in.

The howling was terrifying, and sounded… painful? Like the wail of a woman in pain. Usagi’s heart twisted as her desire to help the specter and the hotel increased. Steeling herself, she rushed to the employee. 

“Are you alright?” Usagi asked the vampire, offering the fallen woman her hand.

The terrified woman nodded yes. Usagi helped her to her feet before taking a defensive position between the woman and the ghost. She wasn’t sure what she could do, but damn it, she was going to do something.

“Get to the house,” she instructed. “I’ll cover you.”

“But Miss…” the vampire costumed woman started. “What about you?”

“I’ll be fine, now go.” Gah, this woman really needed to get away. How else was she supposed to transform so that she could actually stand a chance against this thing? Turning her attention away from the frozen woman, she yelled, “You incorporeal asshat!”

The face in the mist turned its focus on Usagi. She took a deep breath. “With all your moaning you should go haunt a toilet!”

The ghost froze. It blinked as its face changing from rage to something else. Confusion and maybe humor? Did it get the joke? In that instant, Usagi recognized the features.

“Sakiko?” she whispered.

The face grimaced as if the weight of the name was a physical blow. Usagi’s heart pounded in her ears as her eyes darted over the movement of the ghostly cloud. Its name was a weapon.

“Get away!” a distinctly male voice called to Usagi.

Shei turned towards the new voice, as did the ghost. Sakiko’s father haunted the doorway of the exterior quarters. He clutched his chest and rested heavily against the doorframe. His breathing was strained. When it saw him, the ghost’s face snarled. It screamed, the force nearly knocking the older man to his knees. The connection between the Senshi and the specter was shattered.

Usagi glanced between the ghost and the man. The rage of the spirit had seemed arbitrary, lashing out at everything and anything in its way, until _he_ arrived. Staring into the face in the mist, Usagi could see an underlying pain and trauma. Her gut churned as she realized who had caused it.

“Move! Before it hurts you!” he called out again.

Usagi wasn’t going anywhere.

“What did he do to you?” 

Her voice demanded attention. The ghost’s howl died in its throat. Even Sakiko’s father was drawn to her. Minako, two stories up and sensing a ripple of power, turned to her window. In the moonlight, Usagi looked ethereal, terrifying, and like a queen.

“Sakiko,” Usagi continued. She smiled softly at the ghost, then held out her hand, beckoning the spirit to her. “It’s okay. You can tell me.”

“I did nothing,” the man growled.

Usagi held up a hand, silencing him while her eyes never left the ghost. “It’s not your time to speak,” she commanded. Letting the fierceness sofen, she smiled at the ghost.

“Is he the one hurting you?” she asked. The ghost’s expression wavered. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. I won’t let him hurt you anymore.”

Usagi held her arms out. “Let me help you.”

The mist looked at her with such anguish. Then, it started to solidify, forming a tired young woman. She wore pink pajamas with a cat pattern, her face tear-streaked. Usagi’s heart melted as the teen ran into her arms.

“What have you done to her, Daisuke?” the vampire woman said, breaking through Usagi’s enchantment. She was standing now, her dress ripped, one of her vampire ears missing.

“You have no idea…”

“What did you do to my niece?!?” the woman continued. The woman left the doorway, walking towards Usagi and Sakiko, rage at her brother causing her to tremble.

Usagi stroked the girl’s hair. “Shh,” she whispered. “It’s all right. I’m here.”

“You make a laughing stock of our family Yuuko with this,” Daisuke paused to gesture wildly at the building, “abomination of a Pensive. Turning our gifts into a mockery. I was going to prove that she was so much more than a tourist trap. Perhaps even the most powerful psychic of our time!”

“She’s a child!” Yuuko, the vampire woman, countered. Finally, beside her niece, she reached out and, trembling, stroked the girl’s hair. “My darling Sakiko…”

The teen shifted from Usagi’s arms to her Aunt’s. “I don’t care about being psychic,” she whimpered into her aunt’s chest. “I just want to be a normal girl.”

Yuuko stroked Sakiko’s cheek. “You get to choose who you’re going to be. If you want to be a normal girl, than be a normal girl,” she said. “I’ll always love and support you. And you will always have a home here.”

“You don’t get to make that decision for my daughter,” Daisuke snarled, jerking away from the doorway and stumbling towards his sister and daughter. Usagi intercepted him.

“I don’t think so,” she said. Then she punched him. He went down, and Usagi yowled in pain.

“MY HAND! FUCK ME THAT HURTS!”

Sakiko giggled into her aunt’s shirt.

“Why did no one warn me punching people hurts! It looks so easy in movies,” Usagi complained.

“We should put some ice on that,” Yuuko said. “Come with me, and leave that trash where it belongs. Out of my home.”

Usagi stepped over the unconscious Daisuke and followed the two women inside.

XXX  
Yuuko had done a fair job at wrapping Usagi’s hand, Minako observed as she adjusted the the next morning. Plus, their room had been comped.

“I see that I need to teach you how to punch,” Minako said. “We’ve been focused too much on defensive tactics for you, I think.”

Usagi groaned, “Ugh, how am I ever going to explain this to Mamo-chan?”

“Just tell him the truth,” Minako said.

“Eh?” Usagi looked at her, blinking.

“That you, Usagi, stood up to an abusive father to save a girl,” Minako said. “It’s something to be proud of.”

“Does that mean you’re proud of me?” Usagi asked, a bit too enthused.

“Well, I would be prouder if I wasn’t bandaging your hand,” Minako teased. “But you did great work, Usagi.”

The Senshi of the Moon beamed. Minako couldn’t hide her own smirk.

“Ya know, now that the mystery has been solved, I thought we could spend the morning at the beach before heading back home?” Minako added, pinning the bandage closed.

Usagi’s smile got impossibly bigger. “YES! I knew investigating the beach was a good idea!”


	18. Where Is the Kingdom of Dia Anyway?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi and the Senshi go undercover at an Embassy Ball to learn more about a legendary crystal. (Yay! We're here!!)

Crown Arcade was only a few days from the relaunch. The windows were replaced; new games and a new coin machine were installed. Motoki had even used the forced closure as an opportunity to upgrade the building’s wiring. The site had passed inspection. The gachopons restocked. Construction dust still needed to be wiped away, which was Usagi’s job for the day. It was a surprisingly big job. Turns out new construction is quite dusty, and it gets everywhere.

Motoki had stepped out to go get them lunch, leaving Usagi alone. It was a little creepy hearing the buzz of start screens and no patrons playing. Though, no one would mind if she just paused her dusting to try out the new Pokemon game…

Her fingers were wrapped around the Pokeball controller when a tap on the window sent Usagi flying. She turned around, full panic, ready to transform, only to see Rei and Makoto rapping on the glass. Makoto waved excitedly, and Rei put a hand on her hip, judgmentally. Usagi smiled then went to let them in. Technically, the public wasn’t allowed in yet, but Usagi didn’t think Motoki would mind. Especially since they weren’t there to play games.

“Hey,” Usagi said, manually opening the automatic door. 

“Pokemon?” Rei said as she walked in. “Really?”

The blonde ignored her. “What brings you here?”

“Minako sent us because you don’t seem to answer your texts,” Rei said as she entered. Makoto followed behind her.

“Well, you know, I’ve been working,” defended Usagi gesturing to the nearly restored building.

“And seeing Mamoru.” 

“He’s really hot, by the way,” Makoto added. She and Usagi high-fived behind Rei’s back.

Walking towards the seats on the racing games, Rei continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted, “And skipping morning training.”

“Hey, I show up to that, like, sixty percent of the time.”

“It’s quite admirable, Usa,” Makoto said.

“While all of that is true, Senshi business comes first,” Rei parrotted. In her mind’s eye, Usagi could see Minako mouthing the exact same words.

“So I keep hearing,” the blonde groaned, slouching down in the seat of a _Sega World Driver’s Championship_. Makoto folded her arms and rested against the back of Usagi’s seat. 

The Priestess slid into the seat beside the blonde with a shrug. “I’m just the messenger.”

Placing her hands on the steering wheel, Usagi asked, “So what is this Senshi business that’s so important that two of you came to visit me at work?”

“Have you read the news this morning?”

“Of course,” Usagi answered matter-of-factly. Since becoming a Senshi, she’d taken quite an interest in local current events.

“She means the actual paper,” Makoto added. “Not your Twitter feed.”

“Twitter is an excellent source of news,” she retorted.

“I’m not disagreeing, but visiting dignitaries aren’t exactly trending,” the newest Senshi said. “It was like on the back of the socialite section.”

“The paper had excellent coverage of it,” Rei continued. The other two women shared a conspiratorial look, which prompted, “What’s wrong with reading the paper?”

“Nothing,” they said in unison.

Usagi smiled at the brunette’s back-up. “So what does this dignitary have to do with Senshi business?” she asked.

“This is where reading the newspaper would have come in handy,” Rei said. “A _princess_ from the kingdom of Dia is touring their precious and _legendary_ treasure.”

“Okay, I have two questions,” Usagi interrupted, holding up two fingers. “One. I know I’m bad at geography, but, where the hell is the Kingdom of Dia?”

Rei opened her mouth to answer but then frowned. Makoto shrugged her shoulders before supplying, “Africa, maybe?” Usagi accepted this.

“And two,” she continued, “who the hell tours precious and legendary heirlooms?”

The Senshi of Mars rolled her eyes. “How is this any different than your hashtag haunted house ploy?” she retorted.

“My haunted house involved a beach,” Usagi countered.

“And this involves a ball.”

“Touche,” the blonde conceded.

“Anyway,” Rei continued, “A mysterious princess and a legendary jewel are leads worth investigating.”

“So, some rando princess has the mystical crystal we’re supposed to be hunting, and no one finds this the least bit conspicuous?” Usagi said.

“It’s probably just a coincidence,” the raven-haired woman said. 

Makoto shrugged. “I’ve heard of more far fetched ideas.”

“Also, we know that the crystal is fragmented. So, it’s possibly just a piece of the crystal,” Rei added. “Plus, if _we_ see the correlation, that probably means the Dark Kingdom does too.”

Usagi groaned, flopping her head against the steering wheel. “So, secret guard duty. Wonderful. And here I thought I was going to a fancy party.”

“On the bright side,” Makoto added. “It is a masquerade.”

“That is a plus,” Usagi said.

“Minako is arranging everything,” Rei continued. “She’s getting masks and dresses while Makoto handles the invites.”

“AKA, I’m sneaking you in through the catering van,” she whispered. “The catering gig is also the only reason I knew about this dignitary thing.”

“Anyway, we’re to meet at Minako’s at four pm to get ready,” Rei said.

“Ugh, so early?” Usagi whined.

“It’s not like you have plans,” Makoto said. “Mamoru’s working an overnight shift, isn’t he?” 

“How do you know that?” Rei asked indignantly.

“Umm,” the brunette blushed and looked away.

“Have you been texting Mako?!?” Rei exclaimed. “It’s one thing to avoid Minako, but to skip out on me too?”

“Maybe, if you didn’t only go through the group text,” Usagi said with a shrug.

“Hello ladies,” Motoki said, interrupting. 

The blonde jumped at the intrusion, while he just laughed. They’d been so involved in their own conversations they hadn’t even heard him enter. 

He handed Usagi a bento box and a can of Pocari Sweat before turning to Makoto. “I don’t believe we’ve met,” he greeted with a flirtatious smile.

“MY LUNCH!” Usagi exclaimed, snatching the items from Motoki.

“Please don’t eat them on the machines, Usa,” Motoki chided. “They are brand new and don’t have grease marks yet.”

“I’m Rei,” Rei introduced. “And this is Makoto.”

Makoto held out her hand to shake, which Motoki took, the handshake lingering a little longer than necessary.

“Are you the ones she and Mamoru went on a cruise with?” he inquired.

“Well, Usagi and I met on the cruise,” Makoto filled it. “Fast friends.”

“That’s our Usagi. I, unfortunately, don’t have much to offer,” Motoki continued. “I really only brought back lunch for Usagi and myself. You’re welcome to whatever we have.”

“Speak for yourself!” Usagi said with a mouth full of food.

“Is that from the vendor near the station?” Makoto asked. “He has a mean udon.”

Motoki nodded enthusiastically. “Yep. Me and Usa love him. His noodles are the best.”

“The best is a stretch. I think mine are better,” Makoto flirted.

“Really? I think that means we need a taste test.”

“Agreed! More food!” Usagi chimed in.

“We need to get going,” Rei said, interrupting as she grabbed Makoto’s arm. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Motoki. We’ll see you tonight, Usagi?”

Usagi nodded as her friends headed towards the exit.

“It was so nice meeting you!” Motoki called as the girls walked out of the arcade.

Usagi’s mouth was full of noodles that she nearly choked on when Motoki asked, “So… are any of your new friends, single?”

XXX  
Mamoru tried to shrug off the guilt he felt as he scoped out the Embassy Ball. He’d snuck in as Tuxedo Kamen, an easy feat. His years as a jewel thief extraordinaire served him well. Plus, this place seemed to exceptionally lax in security. (Of course, being able to jump twelve-foot brick walls had helped as well.) He hoped tonight would yield another rainbow crystal to his collection. At least then he might be able to justify why he’d lied to Usagi about working an overnight. He was also grateful she didn’t read the paper to know this gala even existed.

Keeping a low profile, he slinked along the balcony, watching the dancing couples below. Usagi would love this, he thought. He let himself picture it for a moment, her in some dramatic, pink dress, trying not to trip over the tulle while he swirled her around the ballroom.

Being Tuxedo Kamen was the biggest secret he kept from his girlfriend, and he hated it. He considered telling her about it, but they were so new and the secret so heavy. He didn’t want to endanger her with the knowledge. Once he found the seven rainbow crystals and reunited them as the legendary silver crystal, he would be free. He could give the thing to the princess and be done. Wipe his hands of the whole superhero shebang, so to speak. Then, he could be with the love of his life completely unhindered, without lying about overnight shifts or extra long work hours, without the constant threat of death, without worrying what his enemies would do if they knew she existed. He wondered how Usagi felt about eloping. Nah, knowing her, she’d want the biggest wedding ever. He smiled at the thought. He could live with that.

As he walked, he saw a woman in a golden, satin dress, red mask, and a simple red bow in her hair. Smoothly, he ducked behind a pillar. He’d recognize that mask anywhere: Sailor V, or now know as Sailor Venus.

Once, they’d been a sort of ally, the enemy of my enemy and all that. A fragile truce that avoided the fact they were always after the same goal - the legendary silver crystal. Then, many years ago, he’d made a promise to a lovestruck boy. That promise had broken the truce between him and V.

He kept in the shadows as Venus walked by. The other girls had to be nearby. He’d need to be extra cautious. Believing the coast clear, he stepped from the shadows and scanned the room for a new hiding spot.

A woman he assumed must be Mars patrolled the other side of the room. (Really, color coordinating to Senshi uniforms and red masks wasn’t the most discreet move) Like V, the red Senshi wasn’t exactly open to his presence either. He scanned the room for the newest Senshi, the one he hadn’t really gotten to meet when his eyes landed on Sailor Moon. 

Mamoru almost didn’t recognize her. Moon was leaning against the wall and terribly bored. Unlike the other two, she wasn’t color-coded like he Senshi armor. She wore a white ball gown with roses on the trim and in her hair, but the same red mask. The mask clued him in, but it was his link to her that drew his focus to her. They were linked somehow. He didn’t truly understand it, but he could sense her in a way that he couldn’t detect the others. It was hard to describe. It felt almost like there was some string tying them together. Still, he knew keeping her safe was integral to the princess’s mission. He smiled to himself. Perhaps this was his opportunity for a little reconnaissance.

XXX  
How could she have ever thought that this would have been exciting? Minako and Rei were entirely too focused on their mission and, therefore, sucked any sort of joy from this sting. Then, on top of everything, Makoto was busy _actually_ working, leaving Usagi alone with her thoughts and datelessness. Balls were supposed to be exciting, but, being all dressed up with no Mamoru to dance with was not.

A tap on her shoulder woke Usagi from her daze. She looked over and saw…

“Tuxedo Kamen,” she whispered.

“Sailor Moon,” he tipped his hat. “May I have this dance?”

White gloved hand outstretched, Usagi slowly reached for it. She suppressed a shiver of deja vu. This was just like that moment from Aladdin. Blinking away a mirage of a different ball, of a starry sky with a blue and green moon, she answered, “Sure, why not?” 

Well, at least a different debonair man could liven things up, right?

Of course, a part of her was concerned by the fact he recognized her as Sailor Moon. Was she that obvious? Did that mean her identity as Usagi could be compromised? Did it even really matter?

Venus had told her that Tuxedo Kamen was an enemy. He wasn’t on their side, but, Usagi didn’t think that was true. Besides, wasn’t there an old saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend?

On the dance floor, they moved with grace. Her skirt swished around her legs, and somehow, her feet knew the steps, like muscle memory. Of what she had no clue. Was this a waltz or a foxtrot? As they swirled around the dance floor, Usagi was hit with a sense of deja vu again - like _they_ ’d danced before, in a ball, to save her from boredom.

She shivered. “Do you feel it?”

“Deja vu?” he answered. “Yes.”

“I wonder what that means.”

“I don’t know.”

Suddenly, a tinny tune began playing between them. Tuxedo Kamen reached into his pocket and pulled out a locket, star-shaped and golden, roughly the size of his palm. The little lid flipped up, and a small crescent moon moved over an exotic landscape.

Usagi traced her fingers along the edges of the trinket. Closing her eyes, she could almost picture herself beside a prince, handing him such a token while professing her undying love. Except, instead of a masked superhero, it was Mamoru. If he were here, sharing this moment, the entire context for this dance would be so different. She giggled.

“What’s so funny?” She could hear the smirk in his voice.

“Oh, just dancing with an enemy to some romantic music. It’s all so sweep a girl off her feet, happy ending, movie magic if only I didn’t have someone else waiting at home,” she said.

“Someone you love?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she answered and looked away, dreamily. “Oh, dear, I hope he wouldn’t be jealous.”

“I promise, that I mean no romantic intent,” he soothed. “I also have someone waiting for me.”

Usagi smiled at him. “Well, if you mean no romantic intent, then what intent do you mean?”

“Honestly?” His eyebrows quirked above his mask. “I was bored. You looked bored too.”

That got a genuine laugh from her. 

“Acute observation, good sir,” she said, giggles dying off. “But, really, what is your intent tonight? I should at least know if I’m actually dancing with the enemy.”

“I don’t think we’re enemies,” he said. “But I supposed we both after the same thing.”

“And what’s that?” Usagi was so proud of not dropping the information herself.

“Why to see if this legendary crystal of the Dia Kingdom has some sort of connection to the legendary silver crystal,” he answered.

“Yeah, us too. What do you want the crystal for anyway?”

He shrugged. “I need it to bring to my princess.”

“Your princess?”

“Yes. She needs the crystals, and in return, she’ll restore my memories.”

After a beat, she added, “We’re also searching for a princess. Maybe we’re looking for the same one.”

“Maybe,” he said.

“We should team up! Work together!”

He shook his head. “Sailor Venus will never allow that.”

“And why not?” she pried.

“Surely, she told you,” he said.

“Um, Venus and I aren’t the closest, though we’re working on it,” she said. “She, and I quote, said you ‘were not to be trusted.’” Usagi tried her best Minako impression.

Tuxedo Kamen looked over her shoulder, glancing around the room as if he couldn’t face her while he explained.

“There was a boy who loved her. And he asked me for a favor. That no matter what happened, to keep her safe. And swore I would,” he explained. “The Dark Agency, which Sailor Venus defeated, with little help from me, attacked one day, and I had to choose who to save. I only had moments, but I kept his promise. I saved V, but, the cost was the boy’s life. I don’t believe she’s ever forgiven me.”

“But! How could she not?” Usagi retorted. “You were just acting in the name of love!”

“You said you had someone right? Imagine, how would you feel if someone didn’t save him, even though you might be more important to this battle?” he said.

“I’d do anything for him,” she said very softly. “But, I guess I get it. I just think that this might be too much. That happened years ago.”

“Time doesn’t change the past,” he said.

Usagi put her head on his shoulder in a sort of hug motion. He tensed when she did it, but relaxed into her touch. She felt his heartbeat on her cheek.

“You’re right,” he said into her hair. “About how this could be romantic.”

“Maybe in another life,” Usagi whispered, “things could have been different between us.”

They were barely dancing. Something more like just holding each other. A fragile moment that would be lost with the slightest breath. He inhaled sharply.

“Venus sees us,” he whispered. He spun her away, still holding her hand. Slowly, he brought her knuckles to his lips for a gentle kiss. “Another time, Sailor Moon.”

And he left her on the dance floor, disappearing into the crowd. Usagi knew Minako would ream her out later for that little display, but for the moment, she held her hand to her heart and daydreamed of a different life. One where a tuxedo-clad superhero boy swept a clumsy, superhero girl off her feet.

The moment lingered, heavy with wasted kinetic energy. Usagi finally turned to see Venus bee-ling towards her. Then a youma broke through onto the veranda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a whole lot going on. I never got to work this chapter as much as I wanted to because my life has been absolute chaos. I have a lot of severe, family health problems and it's put a huge emotional tax on me. I didn't think I was going to be able to post today (break my 8-month streak!) but I managed to find the energy to finish the final revision.
> 
> I want to make sure I thank all of you for reading and the biggest thank you to all you reviewers. The review notifications really got me through some rough times. And a big special thanks to my hubby, who has spent the last week at the hospital being an amazing son to his step-mother.


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